Haunted
by writtinginthedark
Summary: Jess, Becker, Lily and Maddie have been living happily as a family for five years now. However, the reappearance of someone from Becker's past threatens to destroy the lives they have built for themselves. This is a sequel to my story 'Secrets', so it may not make sense if you haven't read that one first. Rated T for possible language and references.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Primeval or its characters

* * *

 **Haunted**

 **Chapter 1 – Anniversary**

Jess swiped the lipstick wand across her bottom lip one last time, making sure the colour had gone on evenly. She was absolutely in love with this shade. It was a new release by her favourite makeup brand and it looked amazing. The deep red stood out against her pale skin and complemented the red highlights in her hair. It was a bold choice—especially when paired with her new black cocktail dress—but Jess had never been one to shy away from bold fashion choices. She added some shimmery bronze eyeshadow then set her makeup aside, satisfied that it was appropriate for the occasion. After all, it wasn't everyday she got to celebrate being married to Becker for two years.

The pair had officially become a couple and moved in together after Becker had been rescued from the late Jurassic, where he had spent five months trapped. During that time Jess had taken in his two young daughters—Lily and Maddie—and cared for them as if they were her own. It wasn't a hard decision to make. Jess had been spending a lot of time with the Becker family before the captain had been lost through the anomaly, and she had come to care for the girls as much as she did their father. When Becker had finally been found months later and learnt that Jess cared about his daughters almost as much as he did, he had at last been comfortable admitting that he loved the young woman. They moved in together days later and truly became a family. The four of them had been living together for two years when Becker proposed to Jess. A year later the couple was married in an intimate ceremony with only their closest family and friends in attendance.

'You look pretty Mummy,' Lily said, coming into the room and taking a seat on the bed.

'Yeah, you look hot,' Abby said, following the nine-year-old in.

'Thanks. And thanks for babysitting Abs, I know it was last minute, but Maddie really wanted to go tonight.'

'No sweat Jess, Maddie's a teenager, of course she'd rather be out with her friends.'

'Yeah. It caused a fight between her and Becker though. I swear the older she gets the more protective he becomes.'

'Teenagers are hard to handle, I'm not looking forward to the day my kids turn into one, but it's not like you have anything to worry about with Maddie. She's a smart girl.'

'I know. And Becker knows that too. I think he was more upset that she made a commitment and was then trying to get out of it. But it's not like she does this all the time, and this slumber party seemed really important to her, she should be allowed to blow off her responsibilities every once in a while. I'm glad we were able to work it out.'

'And I'm glad I'm able to help. Now go, your husband's waiting for you.'

Jess laughed as Abby began shooing her out the door.

Becker was waiting for her in the living room. He looked up as the women came into the room, unable to hide his smile at seeing Jess. Standing up, he crossed the room and took Jess's hand, running his thumb over her wedding ring.

'You look amazing.'

Jess smiled. 'Thanks.'

They stood staring at each other in silence. It was Abby, standing behind them, who spoke first.

'Alright lovebirds, you can stare at each other at the restaurant, but you should go if you want to make your reservation.'

'Right.' Becker took a step back from Jess but didn't let her hand go. The two of them kissed their daughter good bye, then made their way out to the car.

* * *

The restaurant Becker took her to was intimate and not too over the top, something they both appreciated. They had gone to an upscale restaurant for their anniversary last year, but neither of them had felt comfortable there, it simply wasn't who they were. This place, however, was far less extravagant and Jess felt at ease the moment they stepped through the door. The dining area was softly lit, and the décor was romantic, yet simple.

As the hostess lead them it their table, Jess realised where they were. Clasping Becker's arm, she leaned into his side, unable to believe that he had remembered this place. Becker looked down at her, smiling.

'I take it you remember this place,' Becker said once they had been seated.

'How could I forget where we had our first date.'

'I don't think we can really call it a first date. We had already been living together for two months, plus it was, what? Our fifth attempt at going out?'

Jess laughed. Despite officially being a couple and living together, it had taken them ages to actually go out on a date. Their first couple of attempts had been ruined by anomalies, then there was the problem of never being able to find a babysitter. Eventually Becker had decided that drastic measures were needed.

 _The pair had been on their way home from an anomaly, and weren't in the best mood. The anomaly had lasted well past the end of their shift and as if that wasn't bad enough, Emily had been injured while out in the field. Thankfully it hadn't been anything serious, just a few fractured ribs and a broken ankle. Unfortunately for Jess and Becker it meant that her and Matt wouldn't be able to look after Lily and Maddie the following evening, cancelling their most recent attempt at going out._

 _Jess had been staring out the window, thinking they should just stop trying to go out as it clearly never worked, when Becker turned suddenly. Bracing herself, Jess looked up. Becker had pulled into a restaurant carpark._

' _Becker, what are we doing here?'_

' _We can't go out tomorrow.'_

' _I know.' Jess frowned in confusion. 'But there's nothing we can do about it. Emily and Matt were the only ones available to look after the girls.'_

' _No, I mean, we can't go out tomorrow night, so we're going out now.'_

' _We can't. We're still in our work stuff.'_

' _I hardly think that matters, not when you look as beautiful as you do. Besides I've got another shirt in the back.'_

' _You keep spare clothes in your car?'_

' _You do the job we do and you don't?'_

 _He had a point. 'What about Melissa?' Jess asked._

' _Call and tell her we'll be a few hours. I'll go change.'_

' _Becker, we can't just go out, spur of the moment.'_

' _Jess, I don't think it's too much to ask that I get to spend one night with my girlfriend without our kids around. Call Melissa, she'll understand.'_

 _Jess gave in and called Melissa, telling her to call them in an emergency and that if she needed to leave before they got back, to call Abby and Connor since they lived close by._

'It was the first time we had gone out, just the two of us, that's makes it our first date. Even if you did spend too much time worrying about the fact Connor was looking after the girls.'

'Hey, I was still getting used to Temple knowing I had kids, let alone him looking after him.'

They fell into a companionable silence as they decided what to order.

'You don't regret it do you?' Becker asked once their waiter had left.

Jess frowned. 'Regret what?'

'This. Us.'

'No! How could you think I could ever regret this? Hil, I love you.'

'I love you too. But our relationship's never been normal.'

'Nothing in our lives is normal.'

'I know. But I feel like I've robbed you of the one normal thing you could've had.'

'We've been together for five years, and married for two of them. What's brought this on?' Jess's mind was spinning. She couldn't begin to understand why he would bring this up on their anniversary. 'This isn't your way of telling me you want a divorce is it? Because that'd be a really crap anniversary,' her voice shook as she spoke.

'No! God Jess, no. Never. I don't know what I'd do without you. I guess, talking about how hard it was to have our first date made me realise how unconventional our relationship's been. I just, don't want a day to come where you realise everything you've missed, and you start hating me for it. I don't think I could handle it if you left me.'

Jess reached across the table, taking Becker's hand tightly in her own. She looked him in the eye, wanting to convey how serious she was. 'Never. I knew what I was getting into from the beginning, and I could never hate you. I love you.'

Becker brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. 'I love you too.'


	2. Back in Our Lives

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Primeval or it's characters.

 **A/n:** Thank you to those people who reviewed the first chapter, I love hearing what you all think of the story. Enjoy chapter 2 :)

* * *

 **Haunted**

 **Chapter 2 – Back in Our Lives**

Jess woke to find herself cocooned in her husband's arms. Smiling, she rolled over so they were face to face. She blinked as her eyes adjusted to the light.

'Morning,' she said, seeing Becker awake.

'Morning.' Becker pulled her closer, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

Jess curled into his chest. She liked it when they got mornings like this, where they were able to wake up and lie in bed together. It wasn't something they got to do often. Most of the time they had to get up straight away; either to go to work or to take the girls to dance classes or football practice. She couldn't bear the thought that there could come a time when they didn't care enough to spend mornings like this and buried her head in the crook of Becker's neck. He tightened his hold on her in response, sensing something was bothering her.

'I'm sorry,' Becker whispered into her ear.

'What for?'

'Last night. I shouldn't have brought it up,' Becker said, knowing he didn't have to elaborate on what he meant by 'it'.

'Yes, you should have. We're partners. That's what we do, we talk about the things bothering us.' Jess craned her neck, so she could look him in the eye as she spoke.

Becker rolled on to his back, staring up at the ceiling. 'I shouldn't have brought it up last night though. I ruined our anniversary.'

'I'm glad you brought it up, I don't want you doubting how I feel about you.' Jess propped herself up on her elbow and looked down at her husband. Grabbing his chin, she gently moved his head so he was looking at her. 'Besides, you more than made up for it last night.'

Leaning down she kissed him sensually. Becker pulled her on top of him, running his hands up her back, relishing the feel of her bare skin under his palms. Jess cupped his face between her hands while he tangled one hand in her hair, keeping the other planted firmly on her hip. They pressed in closer to each other.

Footsteps running past their door made them pull apart.

'I don't think we're going to get away with staying in bed much longer.' Jess rolled off Becker, lying curled into his side again. 'And we're definitely not going to get away with where that was going.'

Becker smirked down at her. 'I'm surprised we got away with it last night. We're lucky it was only Lily home, _and_ that she's such a heavy sleeper, I'd hate it if our daughters thought I was hurting you.'

Jess pushed him playfully as her face turned bright red. 'Stop it. And I didn't hear you complaining last night.'

'Oh _I_ don't have a problem with you being…appreciative.'

Becker's mobile rang then, halting the retort that was on Jess's lips.

'Yeah Matt?' Becker said by way of answering.

Jess could only hear Becker's half of the conversation, but by the sounds of it, they needed Becker to go into work. Which meant the plans the four of them had to go out and celebrate their anniversary of being a family, were going to be put on hold.

'What was that about?' Jess asked as soon as Becker had hung up.

'Matt was meant to attend a meeting with Lester and some officials today, but Emily's sick and he can't leave, so they need me to go in his place,' Becker told her as he got out of bed.

'And it has to be you that goes in his place?'

Becker looked back at her over his shoulder. 'You know Matt would do it for me if you were sick and needed me home.'

'I know. I'm not saying you shouldn't go, it just sucks that our plans are ruined. Seriously, whose bright idea was it to schedule this meeting on a Saturday?'

Dressed, Becker went around to Jess's side of the bed and lent down to kiss her. 'I've gotta go. Hopefully it won't last too long and we'll still be able to do some of what we planned. I'll call you when I know more.'

''Kay. Love you'

'Love you too.'

Jess watched Becker go before putting on her robe and gathering her stuff for a shower. She called 'good morning' to Lily on her way to the bathroom, telling her to get dressed since they'd have to go pick up Maddie soon.

* * *

Jess decided to take the girls shopping and then out to lunch after picking Maddie up. After all, just because Becker had to work didn't mean the rest of them couldn't still enjoy their day. It was a fun morning. Jess got a new book that she had been dying to read, Maddie got a new CD, while Lily spent a small fortune on dance equipment. She bought three new dresses to perform in; a large selection of crop tops, shorts and leggings to practice in, as well as new ballet shoes, to replace the ones that were practically falling apart. Once they had exhausted themselves shopping, they went to their favourite Indian place for lunch, somewhere they never got to go to when Becker was with them. You would think someone that faced down dinosaurs on a semi regular basis would be able to cope with spicy foods.

After an enjoyable lunch of good food and good company, they went home, hoping Becker wouldn't be too far behind.

'I thought Dad said this meeting wouldn't take long,' Maddie commented as they brought everything in from the car.

'I'm sure he won't be much longer,' Jess told them, not quite believing it herself considering it was well into the afternoon. 'Is there anything you want to do in the mean time?'

'Let's make cookies!' Lily exclaimed. 'Daddy's favourite ones. We can have them with dinner tonight.'

'So the choc-chip Nutella filled ones?'

Lily rolled her eyes. 'Mummy, those are _your_ favourites.'

'Right. I guess you meant the strawberry jam drops.'

Lily nodded, looking at Jess like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

'Well, those are good too. Okay, Lil go put your dance gear away. Properly. Don't just throw it on the floor, because I'll check. Maddie and I'll go see if we have everything for the cookies.'

Maddie and Jess pulled all the ingredients out of the cupboards and once Lily had joined them, they started making the cookies. Baking had become a tradition between the mother and daughters. They had started doing it when it had just been the three of them living in Jess's apartment while Becker was missing. It had been a way for Jess to distract the girls form the fact that no one knew where their father was; she had found that the girls had less trouble coping with the situation if they were kept busy. Later it had become a way for them to work through whatever was bothering them, or to simply spend time together.

They listened to music as they baked; singing along loudly and dancing around the kitchen. Occasionally someone would throw flour at someone else, though Jess put a stop to it before it could become a full out war. The last thing she wanted was to have to spend hours cleaning up the kitchen.

The doorbell rung just as they began rolling the dough into small balls.

'I'll go see who that is, you girls finish this off,' Jess told them, wiping her hands before heading down the hall to the front entry way.

Opening the door, she found a woman standing on the porch. She was slender, had shoulder length golden blonde hair and bright green eyes. Despite being certain that she had never seen the woman before in her life, Jess couldn't shake the feeling that there was something familiar about those features.

'Hi. Can I help you?'

'I'm looking for Hilary Becker.'

Jess frowned. Why would this woman be looking for her husband? 'He's not home right now. May I ask what this is about?'

'He and I knew each other what feels like forever ago, I was hoping we could have the chance to reconnect. My name's Bianca, I'm sure he'd want to…'

'Mum there's still a lot left and the tray's full, do you want us to start…another…one?' Maddie's voice trailed off as she saw who was standing at the door.

'Mads, is that you? My God. Look at you. You're so grown up.'

'Mother?'

Jess looked at Maddie, wondering why she was being so formal with her all of a sudden. But Maddie wasn't addressing Jess, she was staring at the woman on the door step. It was then that everything fell into place. The familiar name. Why Jess felt like she had met her before. She was a combination of Lily and Maddie. She had the same build as the two girls, Maddie's eyes and Lily's hair.

'Wait. You're _that_ Bianca?'

'If by that you mean am I Maddie's mother? Then yes, I am.'

'And Lily's,' Maddie deadpanned.

'Who's?'

'Lily. You know. My sister. The _other_ daughter you abandoned, ONLY HOURS AFTER SHE WAS BORN.' Maddie went to move around Jess, but the older woman blocked her, not wanting her to confront Bianca when she was in this state of mind. Jess had only seen Maddie like this a couple times before, and that had been when she was defending her sister from bullies. She definitely had Becker's overprotective streak.

'Mummy, what's taking so long!' Lily called from the kitchen.

'We'll be there in a second!' Jess called back, then turned to Maddie. 'Sweetheart, you need to take a breath. Can you do that for me.' She waited for Maddie to look at her before she continued. 'Okay, now I need you to go back into the kitchen and stay with Lily, don't tell her what's going on here, okay? I'll deal with this. Can you do that for me?'

Glaring at Bianca, Maddie nodded. 'Yeah Mum, I'll take care of Lily.'

'That's my girl. I'll be in in a moment.'

Once Maddie was gone Jess stepped out on to the porch, closing the door behind her.

'I take it you're Hilary's wife.'

'I am, and we've already established who you are. Now what do you want? Because if it's just to reconnect with an old boyfriend, that's not going to happen. Like you said, Hilary and I are married. Happily.'

'I just want the chance to get to know my daughters. I made a mistake walking out on them. I shouldn't have left them just because I wanted to leave Hilary.'

'It's been nine years, why now?'

'Not that it's any of your business, but I've had a rough few years.'

Jess wasn't sure what to do; this wasn't the sort of decision she could make on her own. She wasn't the one with a history with this woman. 'Look, I'm not saying no, but I'm not going to say yes either. If you were hoping to see the girls today, that brief moment with Maddie is all you're gonna get. Letting you back into their lives is a decision Hil and I need to make together.'

'I suppose that's the best I'm going to get.'

'Yes, it is. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a daughter who needs me.' Jess turned to go back inside.

'I gave birth to them. They're my daughters.'

Jess paused in the doorway and turned to look back at Bianca. 'Then why have I been the one raising them for the last five years?'


	3. Late Night Talk

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Primeval or its characters **.**

 **A/n:** thanks again for the reviews I love hearing what you think of Bianca. In this chapter Becker finds put his girls had a visitor.

* * *

 **Haunted**

 **Chapter 3 – Late Night Talk**

By the time Becker got home, the kitchen had been overrun with cookies, cupcakes and every other baked good the girls knew how to make. Every available surface had been taken up by the treats and the dishes used in their creation. The sight instantly put Becker on edge. The other few times he'd come home to find the kitchen in this state had involved one or more of the women in his life experiencing some sort of emotional turmoil.

'What's wrong?'

'What do you mean?' Maddie asked, trying to keep her voice from sounding flat.

'Last time I came home to find this number of baked goods you were fighting with Alice. What's happened?'

'Nothing's happened Daddy,' Lily assured him. 'Mummy had a lot of new recipes, so we tried them while we waited for you to come home.'

Becker's eyes flicked to Jess. If she was encouraging the baking, there was a good chance she was the one worried about something. Jess stopped him from asking what was bothering her with a nearly imperceptible shake of her head.

' _Later,'_ she mouthed. Whatever was bothering her, she didn't want to discuss it in front of their daughters.

Becker nodded, letting her know that he understood and that he intended to revisit the subject once the girls were in bed.

The meeting had taken longer than Becker had been expecting it too. Apparently when it came to funding, and how much a facility should receive, bureaucrats could—and would—argue for hours on end. Evidently Becker's threats to introduce them to the creatures in the menagerie—and the reason they needed so much funding—didn't help move the meeting along. Though the looks on some of their faces had provided him and Lester with some amusement.

However, because the meeting ran so long, they hadn't got to do any of the things they had planned for that day. Wanting to make it up to his wife and daughters, Becker took them to a late showing of _Beauty and the Beast_ , something all three of them had wanted to see but that he wasn't particularly interested in. He was also hoping it would cheer Jess up.

The movie wasn't as bad as he had thought it would be. There had been moments that Becker himself had enjoyed, and the smiles on Maddie, Lily and Jess's faces were worth sitting through anything. Unfortunately, his triumph was short lived. The look of worry was back on Jess's face the moment the girls had gone to bed. Hopefully, now that it was just the two of them, Jess would tell him what was bothering her.

Becker followed Jess into their bedroom, watching from the doorway as she curled up in their bed, hugging her pillow to her chest. He crossed the room and sat down across from her.

'Are you going to tell me what's bothering you?'

'We had an unexpected visitor stop by while you were at work.'

Becker frowned, he couldn't understand why this troubled Jess so much. She was a social butterfly. She loved having people over, regardless of whether they had organised it in advance. They had a section of their pantry dedicated to foods for when people came over, just in case someone stopped by unannounced.

'It was Bianca,' Jess elaborated.

His frowned deepened. Jess clearly expected him to know who she was talking about, but he couldn't put a face to the name. Was she referring to one of her uni friends? Maybe it was that one that insults everyone while trying to make it seem like she was complimenting them. He could understand her being upset if that one had turned up unexpectedly. No, it couldn't have been that one, Becker was sure her name was Stacey. Who the hell was Bianca? The only Bianca he could think of was... no... it couldn't have been.

The colour drained from Becker's face. 'You don't mean…?'

'Our daughters' birth mother? Unfortunately, I do.'

Becker ran a hand over his face and through his hair. 'The girls didn't see her, did they?'

'Lily didn't, but Maddie came to talk to me while I was still at the door and she recognised her. That's how I realised who she was.'

'I should go talk to her. Make sure she's okay.'

He got up to leave the room, but Jess caught his wrist, stopping him.

'Hil no. She'd be asleep by now. She's okay, I made sure of it.'

Becker sat back down; leaning forward he kissed Jess. 'I love you and I don't know what I'd do without you.'

Jess smiled. 'I don't know about that, you did pretty well the first four years.'

'Yeah, but they were both kids then. There's no way I'd be able to handle the teen years without you.'

Jess laughed thinking about how true the statement was. During the last couple of years, since Maddie had become a teenager, Jess'd had to step in between the father and daughter more times than any of them could remember.

Jess moved closer to him, entwining their arms and resting her head on his shoulder. Becker leant his head on top of hers, drawing strength from her.

'Did she say why she turned up suddenly after nine years?'

'She said she wants the chance to get to know her daughters,' Jess told him, deciding to leave out the part about Bianca wanting to reconnect with him.

'Now she wants to be around her daughters? After nine years! And she actually thinks we'll let her get close to them? Lily won't even know who she is; you're the only mother she's ever known.'

'That's the thing, I don't think we should prevent them from seeing her.'

Becker pulled away from her. 'You think we should let her into their lives? After she's already abandoned them once! You didn't see what it did to Maddie.'

Standing up he began to pace the room.

'No, I didn't. I can't begin to imagine what Bianca's leaving would've done to either of you, but here me out, I've had more time to think about this than you have. At first, I reacted the same way, I thought she must've been crazy if she actually thought we'd let her near either of the girls. But the longer I thought about it, I realised we have no idea what she's been through in the last nine years. For all we know she might have wanted to reach out for a long time now, and hasn't been able to. All I do know, is that I'd never want someone to keep me from my children.'

'You would never abandon them.'

'We can't know what circumstance might drive someone to do, especially with what we do, one day one of us might be forced to. I can't stand between someone and their children. Even if it means relinquishing some of my hold over what my kids do and who they see.'

Exhausted, Becker ran a hand through his hair. 'Then what do you suggest we do.'

'We let her have one supervised visit, you and I will be there the entire time, during which we explain the situation to Lily and Maddie and then let them decide if they want to keep seeing her or not. If they don't then hey, no harm no foul, we can all just keep going with our lives the way we were. If they do want to continue seeing her, well then us adults will have to work something out, we can't keep the girls from her if they want to see her, they'll hate us if we do.'

Sighing, Becker sat back down on the bed. 'I'll… consider it.'

Jess lent over and kissed his cheek. 'That's all I ask.'

'You'd really be okay with Lily and Maddie having another mother in their lives?' Becker asked as they got ready to turn in for the night.

'I have to be. I'm their mother and I need to do what's best for them. If that means letting another mother into their lives, then so be it.' Jess pulled the covers back, climbing into bed.

'You're amazing Jess. The girls and I are lucky to have you.' Becker kissed Jess as he got into bed beside her. 'Good night.'

'Night.'

Neither Jess nor Becker slept well that night. Becker's mind was occupied with whether he should agree with Jess's plan and let Lily and Maddie meet with Bianca. While Jess had come to the realisation that no matter how much she loved and cared for the girls, she would never completely be their mother. There would always be someone else out there who could claim that title as well. Lily and Maddie would never completely be her kids.


	4. Reconciliation

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Primeval or its characters.

* * *

 **Haunted**

 **Chapter 4 – Reconciliation**

Jess threw the empty packet of crisps into the rubbish bin. Bianca was going to be arriving any minute now, and she was trying to put some sort of refreshments together. That way they could be used as a way to fill any awkward silences that would no doubt fall over the group.

Becker had decided that Jess was right. They couldn't prevent their daughters from knowing their birth mother, not if it was what they wanted. So Jess had tracked down Bianca's phone number and invited her to afternoon tea.

Then came the hard part, explaining to Maddie why the woman who had abandoned her was coming over for coffee. As far as Lily knew, Bianca was just someone her dad had known a long time ago. But they knew Maddie would recognise her, and decided she deserved to know who was coming over in advance. She hadn't been pleased at the news, and thought Jess and Becker were making a mistake letting Bianca come over. However, she agreed to meet with her this once, especially since it meant she wouldn't have to see her again.

The door bell rang throughout the house and pulled Jess out of her thoughts.

'I'll get it,' Becker called. Jess moved from the kitchen to the front hall, wanting to hear what was taking place.

'Thanks for letting me see the girls, Hil.'

'It's Jess you should be thanking, this was her idea. I wanted to keep them as far away from you as possible.' Becker's voice was cold; he was using the tone he usually reserved for soldiers who had stepped out of line.

'Well, I'm grateful for the opportunity.'

'Let's get one thing clear. If after today the girls don't want to see you again, then that's that. We have your number, and we won't stop them if they decide to reach out, but you won't contact them again. Whatever happens next is up to them.'

'I understand. It's more than I deserve.'

'That's something we can agree on.'

Hearing the tension in her husband's voice, Jess joined them at the door. Jess squeezed Becker's hand, trying to convey that she was there for him.

'We didn't get a chance to be properly introduced last time,' Jess said extending the hand that wasn't clasped in Becker's. 'I'm Jessica Parker.'

'Bianca O'Malley. I'm sorry, I was under the impression that you were Hilary's wife.'

'I am; I just didn't change my name. It's such a lengthy process, plus there's a crazy amount of paper work and I do enough of that at work.'

Bianca smiled at Jess's attempt at a joke. She appreciated that the other woman was trying to lighten the mood and set her at ease.

'Well,' Jess continued. 'Come in. The girls are in the living room.'

Becker stepped aside, letting Bianca cross the threshold. The pair lead her through the house to where the girls waited.

'You have a beautiful home Hil,' Bianca said as they walked. 'It's just like the type of place we always talked about getting.'

Jess was glad she was walking in front of Becker and Bianca, as it meant neither of them could see her frown. She didn't know how she felt about spending the last five years living in the house her husband used to dream about with his ex-fiancée.

'With Lily we needed more space, a bigger house was the logical move.' Becker's tone suggested that the fact that it was the type of house they used to talk about getting meant nothing to him, and it did a lot to set Jess at ease.

Entering the living room, they found the girls sitting on the couch. Lily looked like she didn't understand what was going on, while Maddie gave the impression that she would rather be anywhere else.

'I'm Lily,' the young girl said as she got up and crossed to join the adults. 'How do you know Daddy?'

'She knows dad,' Maddie said joining the group, 'because she's our mother. Her and Dad were gonna get married. But then she left.' Maddie gave Bianca a stare that could scare off a raptor.

'Maddie don't be stupid. I know she's not our mother, Mummy and Daddy are married, remember? We were at the wedding.'

'Yes, I remember. But she's only been our mum for the last five years. She wasn't around before then.'

'Daddy said that was because she wasn't able to be our mummy just then, but she'd find us when she could be. And she did.'

'You told her that?' Bianca looked at Becker in surprise. She hadn't expected Becker to speak kindly of her with their daughters.

'What else was I supposed to say? Just because I think badly of you doesn't mean they have to.'

Lily looked at the adults in confusion.

'Sweetheart,' Jess said, crouching down in front of Lily. 'You are my daughter, but Honey, I'm not your birth mother. I wasn't the one that carried you in my tummy, that was Bianca.'

'Oh.' Lily looked at the ground, something she only ever did when she was trying to hide how she felt.

'But that doesn't change how much I love either of you.' Jess pulled Lily into a tight embrace.

'I love you too Mummy.'

The group spent the rest of the afternoon getting to know each other. Lily spoke about her upcoming dance showcase, while Maddie detailed the football match her team had won in a landslide that morning. Jess and Becker answered Bianca's endless questions on how they met, what their wedding was like and what they did. But it seemed like the conversation was fairly one sided.

Jess frowned as Bianca deflected yet another question. She had been doing that all afternoon. Each time one of them would ask her a question, Bianca would answer in a way that made it seem like she answered the question, when in reality, she gave them very little information at all.

However, the most surprising aspect of the afternoon happened as the get together was coming to a close.

'This was a lovely afternoon,' Bianca said as she was gathering her things. 'I hope we'll be able to do this again soon.'

'I told you already,' Becker said, crossing his arms, 'that's up to the girls.'

'I'll pass,' Maddie told the adults.

'That could be fun.' Everyone turned and looked at Lily in surprise.

'Really? How about tomorrow afternoon? I'm doing a night shift, but I could pick you up from school and we could go get ice-cream.'

'She's allergic to ice-cream,' Maddie informed Bianca. 'Something you'd know if you hadn't waited nine years to contact us.'

'Maddie!' Jess scolded, while Becker smirked beside her. She had a feeling he was proud his oldest daughter wasn't falling for Bianca's loving mother routine.

The teenager rolled her eyes in response. 'There's a gelato place not far from school, they have fruit sorbets that Lily can eat.'

'Great. We can go there. Sound good?'

Lily nodded her head excitedly.

'Fine,' Maddie said, sounding like it was anything but. 'We finish school at three.'

'Maddie, you don't have to go just because Lily wants too,' Jess said.

'I know Mum, but she shouldn't have to go alone and you and Dad will still be at work.'

'If you're sure.'

'I am.'

'Fantastic! I'll see you both tomorrow at three,' Bianca said, clapping her hands together.

Bianca said her goodbyes then Becker showed her out. Jess felt bad that Maddie was going to meet with Bianca again when she didn't want too, but she was glad Lily wasn't going by herself. Something about that woman didn't sit right with her.


	5. Distance

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Primeval or its characters.

 **A/n:** yay for finally having wifi again and being able to update. Thanks again to everyone who's been reading and reviewing :)

* * *

 **Haunted**

 **Chapter 5 – Distance**

The girls had been spending time with Bianca for the last three weeks and so far, it seemed to be going well. Bianca would see Lily and Maddie a couple times a week after school, and occasionally on the weekends that Jess and Becker had to work. It was an arrangement that suited them, as it meant she was wasn't taking away from the time the girls would spend with their parents. Time that all four of them valued, as they all lead rather busy lives, meaning they didn't get to spend as much time together as a family as Jess and Becker would like.

Lily got along with Bianca well—like she did with everyone she met—and Maddie had been able to move past her initial animosity. Though neither girl had begun to think of Bianca as a mother yet, something Jess was ashamed to admit she was pleased about. For the past five years, Lily and Maddie had been her daughters. She was the one that was there for them when Becker had been lost through the anomaly. She cared for them when they were sick. It was her that helped Lily cope with the bullies at school, and guided Maddie through her first period. They were her daughters and it was hard having to share them with another mother. Even if it was what was best for the girls.

These past few weeks had made Jess realise that no matter how much she loved the girls, and no matter how much they loved her in return, she would never be the only person who got to be their mother. And that hurt more than she had expected it too.

* * *

Saturday mornings in the Becker-Parker household were spent getting the grocery shopping done and running any other errands that had popped up during the week, before going to football or dance practice, depending on what week it was. This week saw the foursome on their way to Maddie's football match. Or at least it would, once they finally got out of the supermarket.

'Mummy I can't find Mr Monkey!' Lily cried as they reached the check-out.

'It's okay Lil, where did you see him last?' Jess asked her daughter.

'I put him down when I was looking at the magazines.'

'Then he's probably still there,' Becker said, putting a hand on the young girl's shoulder before she could run off in search of the toy. Turning to Jess he continued; 'I'll take Lily to look for Mr Monkey, we'll meet you back at the car.'

Jess nodded to Becker before he was pulled away by Lily, leaving her and Maddie to handle the shopping.

Mr Monkey was Lily's favourite toy. She'd had him since she was four years old; he was a souvenir from the trip to the zoo Jess had taken the girls on one Saturday when she had been babysitting for Becker. Since then, Mr Monkey had become a security blanket of sorts. Lily would latch onto it when she was sick, and it was the only thing that would bring her comfort when she was feeling sad. So the possibility that it had been lost, was a very big problem.

'Have you got everything you need for your game today Mads?' Jess asked, as they reached the front of the line.

'Yeah, I'm good.'

'I'll tell ya,' said the elderly man processing their sale, 'it's so nice to see a couple sisters who get along so well that they go shopping together.'

'Yeah, Maddie's always been a pretty good sister,' Jess replied, confused about what the man meant.

'And it's wonderful that you care enough to make sure she has everything she needs. All my girls ever do is bicker. Even as adults, they can't go five minutes without fighting.'

Jess frowned. 'Wait. You mean me?'

'Of course.'

'Oh. I'm not her sister, I'm her mother.'

'No dear, I don't mean the little girl who went off with your husband. It's obvious she's your daughter, though I must say she looks more like her father. But in this instance, I meant this young lady here.'

'I'm aware of that and I reiterate; she's my daughter.'

'How is that possible? You don't look more than ten years older than her.'

'Mum, don't,' Maddie spoke up. She had been silent throughout the exchange, but she knew how sensitive Jess could be when people questioned how she could already have a teenage child, so she spoke up, hoping to prevent a scene. Though the only person that had been capable of doing that in the past was Becker.

'I don't see what my age has to do with anything,' Jess continued, not hearing Maddie.

'I just mean that it'd be impossible for you to give birth that young.'

'There's more than one way to become a parent. Perhaps, instead of making assumptions you— '

'Jess, drop it,' Maddie hissed, embarrassed by the scene that was taking place. 'God, you don't have to have this argument with everyone that questions our relationship. Who cares what some random guy thinks.'

Jess was stunned into silence. But it wasn't Maddie's outburst that had shocked her. In the five years she had been Lily and Maddie's mother she had seen plenty of outburst from both girls. Even a couple from Becker when he was really annoyed. No, the outburst didn't shock her. What surprised her was Maddie referring to her by her name. In five years Maddie had never referred to her as anything other than mum—mother on occasion if she was annoyed with Jess. Now suddenly she was back to being Jess, and she couldn't help but feel like it had something to do with Bianca's return.

Jess paid for the groceries and they made their way out to the car, neither one of them saying anything.

When they got there, they found Becker and Lily waiting for them, a huge smile on the girl's face. By the looks of it they had been able to find Mr Monkey. Neither father nor daughter noticed the tension between Maddie and Jess.

* * *

Jess sat in the stands with her friends and family to watch Maddie's football game, but regardless of how hard she tried she couldn't enjoy it in the same way she normally did. She couldn't stop thinking about the fact that Maddie had called her Jess. Was it just a slip made out of annoyance? Or did it signify a shift in how Maddie saw Jess?

Ever since Bianca had turned up in their lives Jess had been worried that it would change her relationship with the two girls. Surely if they had their birth mother back, they wouldn't need her anymore. What made these feelings worse was that she couldn't bring herself to talk to Becker about it. He had always been the one person she could talk to about anything, and he'd always had a unique way of putting everything back into perspective. But she knew in this situation he wouldn't understand what she was going through. Yes, he didn't entirely like having Bianca around either, but it didn't affect his relationship with Lily and Maddie in the same way that it did hers. No matter how many knew people entered their lives, he would always be their father. Nothing could change that. But Jess would never be their only mother, and it was all too possible that one-day Lily and Maddie would think of her as nothing more than their father's wife.

Jess was startled from her musings by someone jumping down from the seats behind her. She kept her gazed fixed on her hands, clasped in her lap, as they sat down beside her.

'You've been very quiet today,' Matt said, bumping his knee against hers.

'I'm just thinking about stuff I need to get done at home,' Jess told him, not wanting to admit her fears.

'No you're not. I know your looks Jess, and that is not your 'I've got so much to do' look. So what's bothering you little sister?'

Jess smiled at the term of endearment. During the early days of the new ARC, Jess and Matt had spent a lot of time together, being the only senior members of staff new to the organisation at the time. They had grown close as a result; Matt beginning to think of Jess as the sister he never had, while Jess thought of Matt as a second brother, one that she actually got to see. Even when her brother and his family had moved back into the country, she continued to see Matt as a brother, someone she could turn to when she needed help dealing with the rest of the world.

'I'm fine.'

'Don't try and lie to me. I know something's wrong. I haven't seen you look like this since that time you convinced yourself that it was impossible for anyone to love you, and that you were going to die alone. I still can't understand why you ever thought that.'

Jess remembered the time he was talking about. She had just gone through a break up, which hadn't really upset her all that much, she had only been seeing the guy because she was convinced Becker would never see her as anything more than a colleague. What had upset her, was that it made her realise how strong her feelings for Becker were, and that it would be impossible for anyone else to love her while she was in love with somebody else. And since Becker didn't love her, and she was unable to get over him, she was obviously doomed to die alone.

It wasn't one of her best moments; and she hated the fact that she got so worked up over a guy. Even if she had ended up marrying said guy.

'Unless the two problems aren't unrelated,' Matt continued. 'Is everything okay between you and Becker?'

'No, we're fine. Well, except for that time I thought he was asking me for a divorce.'

'What?' Matt exclaimed.

'It was all a misunderstanding. It was our anniversary and we were talking about how unconventional our relationship had been. He asked me if I ever regrated it, and I thought that was his way of telling me that he _did_ and he wanted to end the relationship. But he was just worried that _I_ would wake up one day and leave _him._ '

'We can only hope,' Matt joked, prompting Jess to hit his shoulder. 'So, if it's not your relationship with Becker, what's got you so down?'

Sighing, Jess gave in and told Matt about how she'd been feeling ever since Bianca turned up.

'Have you talked to Becker about any of this?' Matt asked when she was finished.

'No, I don't know how to. It was my idea to give the girls the opportunity to get to know her after all.'

'You need to talk to him about it. I don't think you're going to be able to get over these feelings until you do.'

'You're probably right,' Jess said, resolving to talk to Becker as soon as she got a chance.


	6. Date Night

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Primeval or its characters.

 **A/N:** Sorry it's taken so long for me to update, Christmas time is our busiest period at work and it means I don't have a lot of free time, but I am still working on this story and I'm going to try to get the next chapter finished as quick as I can. Enjoy this new chapter, I can't wait to hear what you all think :)

* * *

 **Haunted**

 **Chapter 6 – Date Night**

That night was date night for Jess and Becker, a tradition that had started after all the stories they'd heard of couples whose lives revolved around their kids, and who didn't know how to act around each other when the kids weren't there. Becker and Jess both loved their daughters dearly, but they didn't want to turn into one of those couples. They wanted to ensure that they took time to be together, and that they never began to take the other one for granted. Thus, the tradition of date night was born.

Once a week—or sometimes a fortnight, depending on what life would allow—the couple would leave the girls with one of their friends and enjoy some time alone. They would go out to dinner, or to a movie, or sometimes—if they could find someone to look after the girls overnight—they would simply enjoy a night in with the house to themselves.

This time, they had decided to go ice-skating, and Jess was looking forward to the night out with her husband. Or at least she had been, until the fiasco that morning had happened. Now she didn't feel like doing much of anything; and she knew that came across in her attitude. It wasn't fair on Becker, she knew she was ruining their night together, but she just couldn't enjoy herself. Which put her in an even worse mood considering she had been excited about going ice-skating ever since they'd made the decision to go.

Normally she would be laughing at Becker as he stumbled across the ice, grumbling about how unfair it was that she was the one with perfect balance. To which she would retaught that it was the result of years of wearing high heels. But tonight, all she could bring herself to do was follow slowly behind him, pausing whenever he fell on the ice. An occurrence that was becoming increasingly infrequent, something the solider was proud of.

Becker wasn't stupid. Jess knew he could tell that there was something bothering her, and that he was waiting for her to talk about it. That was one of the things she loved about her husband, he never forced her to talk about something if she wasn't ready to. And she intended to talk to Becker about it. She had taken her conversation with Matt to heart and knew he was right, she wouldn't feel better until she talked to Becker. But she was still wary about broaching the subject. It was her idea after all. Plus, she was scared that he wouldn't try to understand, that he would tell her she was being ridiculous.

But Becker would only wait so long.

'Jess, what's bothering you?' he asked, coming to a stop all of a sudden.

'Nothing,' Jess replied, there was no way she was talking about this in public, not when it had the potential to turn into an argument.

'Sweetie I can tell you're lying.'

Jess sighed. 'I don't want to talk about it now. Not while we're out.'

'Okay. How about we get some take-out and head home then? You're clearly not enjoying being out and Bianca won't be dropping the girls off for a few hours.'

'Yeah, okay.'

Becker smiled at her and held out his hand. Giving him a small smile in return, Jess took his offered hand and together they made their way off the ice.

It wasn't until they were back home, sitting on the couch with a half-eaten pizza on the coffee table, that Becker broached the subject again.

'Do you want to talk about it?' he asked, setting his wine glass down on the table.

Jess's gaze fell to the glass in her own hands. 'I don't know,' she replied.

Becker gently took the glass from her hands, set it down beside his, then clasped her hands in his. 'Jess, whatever it is, you know you can talk to me right? You can always talk to me about anything.'

'I know,' she said quietly.

Becker smiled at her and waited for her to talk about whatever the problem was.

Jess took a deep breath, trying to settle some of her nerves. 'It's just… I know it was my idea. But ever since Bianca's been around. I feel like… like I'm losing the girls. Like they don't need me now. Like I'm not their mother anymore.'

Becker frowned. 'Why would you think that?'

'They're pulling away from me. Whenever I ask them if they want to do something it's always ''we went with Bianca'' or ''we promised we'd go with Bianca''. They don't want me picking them up if I can get away from work early anymore. Lily doesn't even want me to take her to buy her new dance gear! The only time I spend with them is when all four of us are together,' Jess's voice got louder as she spoke. It was hard admitting these things out loud, and she could feel herself getting more and more worked up.

'Jess, we both knew that having Bianca around would change things.'

'I know,' Jess said, her voice cracking and eyes shining with unshed tears. 'But I didn't think it would mean they wouldn't need me anymore. That I wouldn't be their mother anymore.'

'What?' Becker asked, confused. 'Jess of course they need you. And you are most certainly still their mother, you have been for over five years now!'

'You don't understand Becker,' she said, tears finally falling. 'You're their father, and nothing will ever change that. But I'm not their only mother. A fact that they're entirely aware of.'

'What do you mean?' Becker asked, moving to wrap an arm around his wife.

'Maddie's started… calling me 'Jess' again.'

'When?'

'Today at the store. This guy assumed we were sisters and when I—'

'Sweetheart, I doubt she meant anything by it. She probably just wanted you to drop it, you know how sensitive you are about all this. I doubt you'd be this upset right now if it wasn't such a sensitive subject.'

'So… you think I'm overreacting,' Jess asked pulling away from Becker.

'Well, yeah… kind of.'

'I knew it!' Jess cried as she jumped up off the couch and moved across the room. 'Matt was wrong! You don't understand and you don't want too!'

'That's not true! And why are you talking to Matt about this instead of me?'

'Oh not this again! I thought you got past that ridiculous jealous of Matt phase?'

'I'm not jealous! I just don't understand why you would talk to him first instead of me, your husband.'

'Because he's my best friend! He's practically my brother! God, would you be this upset if I had talked to Abby or Emily?'

'For the last time, I. Am not. Jealous! I just don't see why you didn't come to me. It's a family matter after all.'

'I didn't go to Matt, he could tell something was bothering me and wanted to know what it was. So I told him because I knew he'd understand.'

'And you didn't think I would?'

'No. And clearly I was right!'

'Well then if Matt's so great, why are you here!'

Jess was stunned in to silence. She had never had a fight with Becker this bad. Sure they fought about as frequently as any couple, but they were normally over things like one of them being too reckless at work, or whether they were doing the right thing in how they were raising the girls. Those fights never lasted long. They would yell at each other a bit, then take some time to themselves to think things through, before realising they were both overreacting and apologising to each other.

But this time was different. They were fighting about issues she had thought they had already resolved. And Becker had practically suggested she leave. Something about this time was different. Maybe Becker was right all those weeks ago. Maybe their relationship had been too unconventional to last.

'You're right,' Jess said, her voice quiet. 'Why am I?'

Turning on her heels, Jess marched out of the house, pausing only to grab her keys and coat off the hooks by the front door.

'Jess wait! That's not wh—'

But the rest of whatever Becker was going to say was drowned out by the sound of the door slamming shut.

Getting into her car, Jess threw it into gear before speeding off down the street, no clue as to where she would go, just knowing she needed to be far away from her husband.

* * *

Matt and Emily were enjoying a quiet night at home—curled up together on the couch, each with a book in their hands—when they heard someone knocking loudly on their front door.

'Who could that be,' Emily asked, looking up from where she lay, her head resting on his lap.

'Only one way to find out,' Matt said, getting up to go open the door.

If someone knocking on his door at 10pm had been a surprise, what Matt found when he opened the door was a complete shock. Jess stood on his porch, arms wrapped around herself and tears streaming down her face.

'Can I stay here tonight?' she sniffled.

'Of course.' Matt quickly unlocked the screen door, allowing Jess to come in.

The moment the second door was open, Jess was rushing through the threshold and throwing herself into Matt's arms, her tears starting up again with full force.

They remained in the door way—Jess crying and Matt stroking her back soothingly—for so long that Emily came to see what was going on.

'Jess!' she exclaimed upon seeing the sobbing young woman. 'Whatever is the matter?'

Jess pulled away from Matt and tried to regain control of her breathing. 'B-becker and I had a-a fight.'

'About Bianca?' Matt asked.

Jess nodded.

'Shit. I'm sorry Jess, I really thought the oaf would understand.'

''S'not… not your fault.'

'Yeah but I was the one who told you to talk to him about it.'

Emily frowned, she was clearly missing some information. 'Perhaps we should all take a seat, and Jess can explain properly what has taken place.'

Jess nodded and followed the other woman into the living room, where she took a seat between her two friends.

'I told Becker about how I feel like I'm losing the girls, like they don't need me to be their mother any more. But he just thought I was being oversensitive and ridiculous. The argument escalated from there and the next thing I knew we were arguing about how Matt and I are so close.'

'I thought he got over that?' Matt asked

'So did I, but I guess not.'

'I am sorry, but I am having difficulty following. Why is your friendship with Matt a problem for the captain?' Emily asked.

'Some men have trouble coping with their wives or girlfriends being close to another man,' Jess explained.

'People haven't evolved all that much since your time in that regard,' Matt add.

'But that is preposterous. Neither Jess nor you would do anything to jeopardise your relationships.'

'And I love you even more for the fact that you understand that,' Matt said, smiling at his partner.

'I just don't see why Becker doesn't seem to understand that,' Jess said.

'What happened next?' Emily asked, redirecting the conversation.

'He asked me why I was even there if I was so much closer to Matt. I told him I didn't know and I left.'

'I'm so sorry Jess,' Matt said, wrapping an arm around her.

Jess shook her head. 'It's not just that. Having Bianca around is making me realise how much of the girls lives I wasn't a part of. I see Abby and Connor with their boys and they're celebrating all these milestones that I never got to see. I love Lily and Maddie, I really do. And I know they both have more milestones to come that I'll get to be a part of. But I didn't get to experience when they took their first steps, or said their first word, or got their first tooth. And I guess I'm just realising now that that's something I'll never get.'

'Jess, you don't know that you'll never get to experience those things,' Matt said, hoping to reassure her.

'I just can't help but feel like Becker and I entered into this relationship without really thinking anything through, and now it's all falling apart.'

'Jess, you are tired and upset, I am sure everything will seem different after a proper night's sleep,' Emily said.

'Perhaps you're right.'

'Come, I will get you something to sleep in and then we will all retire.'

Jess stood, allowing Emily to lead her from the room. Maybe the older woman was right. Maybe everything would look different in the morning.


	7. The Morning After

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Primeval or it's characters.

 **A/n:** I had more free time this week, so I've got another chapter for you. I hope you're all enjoying reading it as much as I am writing it. Thank you to everyone who's reviewed so far, I love hearing you're thoughts and look forward to hearing what you think about this new chapter. Enjoy X

* * *

 **Haunted**

 **Chapter 7 – The Morning After**

The next morning Jess woke to the sounds of hushed voices coming from the other room. Eyes blinking open, Jess looked around. She was lying on a couch, curled up under a soft blanket. Curious as to why she was sleeping on a couch, she sat up and looked around the room. She clearly wasn't in her own house. This room looked nothing like the living room she had helped decorate. As her eye caught on the picture of Matt and Emily on the side table, her memories of last night returned. Date night. Her fight with Becker. Leaving and going to Matt's apartment.

The voices grew louder and Jess was surprised to learn that they didn't belong to the couple who lived in the flat. The first voice clearly belonged to Matt, but the second was not that of the ever proper Emily, but rather someone else who's voice Jess was intimately familiar with.

'Please Matt, I just want to speak to my wife,' Jess heard Becker say.

'Yeah well, last time I spoke to her she didn't seem like she wanted to talk to you anytime soon,' Matt replied. 'You really upset her last night.'

'I know! I just want to fix it.'

Jess could hear the desperation in his voice. It was strange. Normally Becker excelled at hiding how he felt. The only time he ever had trouble doing so was when he thought he was going to lose someone he cared about.

Jess sighed. _That's probably how he feels now. Like he's losing me. I did run out on him after all._

'Jess,' Emily said gently. 'Do you want me to tell Matt to let Becker in?'

Jess rubbed her eyes, trying to wake up properly. 'I should probably talk to him, shouldn't I?'

'I think it would be for the best, yes.'

'Okay,' Jess said, getting up and walking towards the door.

'Look, even if she wanted to talk to you, and I'm not entirely sure she does, there's no point in you being here now because she's asleep,' Jess could hear Matt saying as she drew nearer the entry way. 'And, after the night she had, I intend to let her sleep as long as she likes.'

'It's okay. I'm awake,' Jess said as she came into sight. 'You can let him in.'

'You sure Jess?' Matt asked, not moving from his position blocking the door.

Jess nodded. 'I'm sure.'

'Okay.' Matt moved from where he stood guard, allowing Becker into the flat.

'Hi,' Becker said quietly, his eyes fixed on his wife.

'Hi,' Jess replied, refusing to meet his gaze.

The alcove descended into silence. Neither of them knew where to begin, and Becker wasn't too keen on having this conversation in front of their friends.

'Why don't Matt and I go and make everyone some tea,' Emily suggested when it became clear Matt had no intention of leaving the couple alone.

When he still showed no indication of moving, Emily elbowed Matt in the side.

Matt sighed. 'Yeah, good idea,' he said, allowing Emily to lead him to the kitchen.

'Do you wanna… go sit down?' Jess asked, breaking the silence between them.

Becker nodded and followed her back into the living room. Sitting down on the couch, Jess wrapped the blanket from last night around her, taking comfort from its warmth. Becker stifled a sigh as he sat down next to her. He knew Jess, and wrapping herself in a blanket meant she was trying to protect herself.

They sat in silence. This was an important conversation—one that may have been a long time coming—but, now that they were faced with it, neither one of them knew how to begin.

'The girls were worried about you last night. Lily refused to go to bed until you got home. Eventually, she fell asleep on the couch,' Becker begun.

'Don't do that Becker,' Jess said, her voice hard.

'Do what?'

'Use the girls to try and make me feel guilty for walking out last night.'

'I'm not tr—'

'Because I had to,' Jess continued, cutting Becker off. 'I needed to process how I felt and I couldn't do that around you.'

'Why not?'

'Because you were there thinking I was being ridiculous and I'm thinking maybe he's right. Maybe we did enter into this too lightly.'

'So you do regret us.'

'No, and I don't know how to convince you of that. I just wish you understood why having Bianca around is hard for me.'

'But I do Jess.'

Jess looked at Becker and raised an eyebrow in question.

'I talked with Bianca when she dropped the girls off last night,' Becker started.

'You talked to your ex about our problems,' Jess said unbelievingly, thinking back to the day Bianca had turned up and talked about reconnecting with Becker. 'And you got mad at me for talking to Matt? At least he's my—our—friend, not a virtual stranger.'

'Please, just let me explain,' Becker begged.

'Fine. Go on.'

'She told me she could understand why you felt that way. After all you've been Maddie's mother for as long as she had been before she left. And you're the only mother Lily's ever had. She's having trouble dealing with the girls having another mother as well; and I realised if it's that difficult for her, when she hasn't been their mother for nine years, this must be impossible for you.'

All of Jess's defences collapsed with that last statement, and she let out all the emotions she had been holding onto since Bianca had turned up in their lives. Or at least all the emotions left in her system since last night. It was a relief knowing Becker understood, to some degree, what she was going through. Even if it did take airing their problems to that woman to make him understand.

Jess let Becker pull her into his arms, accepting the comfort he could provide.

'It's so hard to cope with having her around. They're my girls Hil.'

'Shh, I know baby,' Becker said as he stroked her back. 'And they know that too. That's why I brought the girls up earlier. Not so you'd feel bad, but so you'd realise they care about you and love you.'

'I'm their mother,' Jess said, more to reassure herself of the fact than for any other reason.

'I know. And I hate seeing you feel like this, so I talked to Bianca about setting boundaries. I hope you don't mind.'

Jess pulled back so she could look at Becker properly. 'Like what?' she asked.

'Like just taking a step back. She understands that giving birth to them doesn't give her any special rights, at least not where we're concerned. She understands that she has to earn back the chance to be a mother to them and has agreed to defer to you until then. If you think she's overstepping just say so and she'll back off.'

Jess listened to the agreement Becker and Bianca had reached, not really believing it. Bianca didn't seem like the type of person who'd back off without a fight. This whole agreement thing sounded more like an attempt to stay in Becker's good books. But Jess didn't have much of a choice here. If she didn't accept it she'd end up looking petty.

'Okay,' Jess said, putting aside her fears.

Becker smiled at her. 'I don't suppose you want to go home now?' he asked. 'I know the girls really want to see you.'

'Yeah, just let me get changed first.'

Getting up, Jess collected the clothes she had arrived in last night and went to change in the bathroom down the hall.

Done, she went in search of Matt and Emily. Wanting to return the clothes she had borrowed and say thank you for everything they had done for her.

'So are you drying out the tea leaves? 'Cause I've never seen it take two people this long to make tea?' Jess said teasingly as she entered the kitchen.

'We thought you and the captain would prefer to talk in private,' Emily told her.

Jess smiled at her friends. 'Thank you.'

'Is everything okay?' Matt asked.

'Yeah, we're good. Thank you, for everything.'

Matt smiled and pulled her into an embrace. 'Anytime little sister.'

'Okay, that's enough mushiness, you're gonna make me start crying. Again,' Jess said as she pulled away and wiped a tear from her cheek. God, what was wrong with her. She wasn't one to cry this much. Normally she only cried when she reached the limits of her frustration, and on occasion from anger.

She met Becker in the entry way, who thanked their friends as well for everything they had done for the couple. They made their way down the drive way together to their respective cars.

'You know I'm not jealous, right?' Becker said as he stopped by Jess's car.

Jess frowned at him.

'Of your relationship with Matt,' he continued. 'I mean, I was at one time, but not anymore. If anything it's a huge relief knowing there's someone that cares about you that much, this way I know if anything ever happens to me again, you'll have someone there for you.'

Reaching up Jess kissed him. 'I know, but it's nice to hear you say that.'

* * *

Back home, as soon as Jess walked through the door, Lily went running to her.

'Mummy!' the young girl cried as she threw herself into Jess's arms. 'You're home.'

'Of course I'm home,' Jess said, scooping Lily up and carrying her into the living room.

She sat them down on the couch and they were soon joined by Maddie.

'I'm sorry Mum,' Maddie said.

'What for?' Jess asked, frowning. Looking at Becker she saw the same confusion mirrored on his face.

'I heard Dad and Bianca talking last night. I know the two of you fought because you were mad at me for what happened at the shop.'

'You're right. We did fight. But it was not because of you, and you have nothing to apologise for,' Jess reassured her.

'But, you and Dad aren't going to break up, are you?'

'No. Sometimes, emotions get in the way and people fight because they can't think clearly, and Hil and I need some time away from each other to work through what we were feeling. Which we did, and now we love each other more than ever.'

'Is that true?' Lily asked, who had been looking worriedly between her parents.

'Of course,' Becker said, moving from his spot by the door to join them on the couch. 'The four of us are a family, nothing will ever change that. Now, go get dressed. We have to leave for dance class in ten minutes.'

Jess smiled as she watched the girls go to the rooms. She felt better than she had in days, like a weight had been lifted off her. She still didn't believe that Bianca would actually back off if she told her too, but she wasn't going to worry about that for the moment.


	8. Surprises

**Haunted**

 **Chapter 8 – Surprises**

Jess was sitting on the couch, flicking through the list of T.V shows on Netflix. She had been feeling sick to her stomach all week, though she had refused to acknowledge the fact that she was coming down with something. Finally, it had got to the point where she looked so pale, Lester had sent her home, worried that she would pass out at the ADD.

At the time, Jess had agreed it was a good idea; she'd felt like crap. But no more than an hour after getting home she had felt fine again, meaning now she was bored. Jess had never been one for being idle, so being stuck at home for no reason was torture. Especially since it meant not knowing what was going on with the team.

The only good thing about being home was it meant she'd be able to pick Lily and Maddie up from school. Maybe the three of them could go out for afternoon tea. It would be nice doing something together. Jess felt like it had been an eternity since she spent any real time with her daughters.

Though Becker claimed to understand how she felt and had assured her that Bianca would take a step back; nothing had really changed in the last two weeks. Bianca continued to see the girls as frequently as she had been, and Becker was still, for the most part, oblivious to Jess's growing feelings of mistrust and suspicion. It had gotten to the point where Jess had ended up running checks on Bianca, trying to turn up any ulterior motives. But, as far as Jess could tell, she had no criminal record, her finances were good and she was in perfect health.

 _So what's her angle? Dose she really just want to get to know her daughters? Or am I right, and there's more to it than that?_

The sound of her mobile ringing next to her dragged Jess away from her musings. Picking up the phone, she checked the caller ID and found it was Becker calling her.

'Hey Hil, is everything alright?' Jess asked, trying not to assume the worst.

'Everything's fine. I just wanted to see how you were doing.'

Jess smiled at the love in his voice. 'I'm fine. Whatever it was has passed.'

'Are you sure? You're not just saying that to make me stop worrying?'

'I promise, I'm f—' Jess's reply was cut off as the sound of Becker's landline ringing came down the line.

'Sorry Jess, just give me a second to see what this is.'

There was a clunk as Becker set his mobile down on his desk. Jess could hear Becker as he picked up his work phone and begun conversing with the person on the other end of the line. Whoever it was, Becker was not happy with the news they delivered. Jess hoped that nothing had gone wrong at work. And that Becker wouldn't shoot the messenger.

When Becker came back on the line, Jess could hear the anger in her husband's voice.

'Jess I'm going to have to go,' he told her.

'Why, what's going on?' she asked worriedly. 'Is there an anomaly?'

'No. Everything's good here. That was Maddie's school. She's in trouble and they need me to go down there.'

'What happened?' Jess asked shocked. It was unlike Maddie to get into so much trouble that one of them were required to go to the school.

'I don't know, they didn't say. They just told me to come in as soon as I could.'

Jess could hear Becker moving around as he spoke to her.

'Hil, relax. You stay at work and I'll go deal with Maddie.'

'No Jess, you need to rest. I'll just have to get Matt to deal with things here till I get back.'

'Hil, I promise I'm fine. I can handle this; you're needed at work.'

Becker sighed. 'Okay. Thanks Jess. I love you.'

'Love you too. I'll talk to you later.'

''Kay. Bye.'

Jess disconnected the call and, grabbing her keys and bag, rushed out the door.

* * *

Jess got to Maddie's school as quickly as she could, only to be told that the problem had been dealt with and to take Maddie home for the remainder of the day. Jess had tried to get the principal to talk to her about the incident but had gotten nowhere.

'Ms Parker, I appreciate your concern for your daughter, but at this school we prefer to deal with students without the intervention of parents,' the principal told her.

'I understand that,' Jess replied. 'But I just want to ensure that the punishment fits the crime. Suspension is an extreme form of discipline, and I'd like to know what Maddie did to warrant it.'

'You should just be happy your daughter managed to convince me a two-day suspension was sufficient. This school has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to bullying and normally the punishment is far more sever.'

The principal then made clear that it was the end of the discussion and that it'd be best if Jess and Maddie left.

Now they were in the car, on their way back to the house. Maddie was sitting in silence, staring out the passenger window at the houses flying past; while Jess had her eyes fixed on the road ahead, her grip on the steering wheel tightening the longer they went without speaking. She was surprised at Maddie's behaviour, it was unlike her to get in trouble at school, and Jess was annoyed that she wouldn't talk to her about what had triggered the incident.

'Bullying Maddie, really?' Jess said, deciding she wasn't going to wait any longer for the girl to open up. 'That's so unlike you.'

'I wasn't bullying anyone,' Maddie said in her defence.

'Then why did you just receive a two-day suspension?'

'Because Mrs Knickerbocker jumps to conclusions and refuses to listen to reason.'

Jess sighed. 'Then explain to me what happened.'

'There's been this rumour going around that Susan—this girl I know who's a couple years above me—is pregnant, and Lucy and I were talking about it.'

Frowning, Jess flicked her eyes quickly between Maddie and the road. 'I don't see how that's cause for suspension.'

'A teacher overheard our conversation and they assumed, since I know so much about it, I must've been the one to start it. I tried telling Mrs Knickerbocker that I only knew so much because Susan and I play football together and are friends, but she wouldn't listen.'

'I believe that,' Jess grumbled, thinking back to her own experience with the headstrong principal. 'Still, you should know better than to take part in gossip, especially if it's about your friend.'

'But it's true. She's been feeling sick for days now, but she was always fine again by midday, then when she started throwing up she did a test and it was positive. I was only talking about it 'cause I was defending her, everyone's been treating her like she has the plague and I guess being….'

But Jess had stopped listening. Something Maddie said had caught her attention. _She's been feeling sick for days… always fine again by midday._

'Crap,' Jess said. Turning suddenly, she headed in the direction of the supermarket by their house.

'Why are we here?' Maddie asked as Jess pulled into the parking lot. But Jess ignored the question and got out of the car, unaware of Maddie following her.

As they walked through the store, Maddie kept up her line of inquiry, but Jess couldn't bring herself to answer any of her daughter's questions. She had too many thoughts going around in her head. She couldn't believe that this was happening. She had always thought that if her and Becker went down this path it would be a conscious decision on both their parts. Not, well, an accident.

'Mum, what's going on?' Maddie asked again, but by now they had reached the aisle Jess needed and Maddie was able to see the product her mum had come searching for. 'Oh,' Maddie continued, her voice subdued. 'You and Dad decided to have more kids.'

Clutching the pregnancy test to her chest, Jess sighed before answering her daughter. 'No. We haven't talked about it. It wasn't even something I had considered until a couple weeks ago.'

'Oh. Oh, ew!' Maddie exclaimed, realising what Jess's words implied.

Neither of them said anything as Jess paid for the test and drove home. They were both lost in thoughts of what this could mean for their family.

As soon as they got home, Jess locked herself in the bathroom. When she came out three minutes later, she found Maddie waiting for her at the door.

'Well?' the fourteen-year-old asked.

'It's positive.'

'Oh, okay. Well, that's good! Isn't it?' Maddie asked, trying to sound enthusiastic for Jess's sake.

'I don't know Mads. I don't know if Hil even wants more kids. And wouldn't it be weird for you and Lily.'

'Don't worry about us, we'll adjust. Plus, I'm pretty sure Lil would love being a big sister. And it's not like Dad's going to be annoyed at an unplanned pregnancy, it's not his first.'

Jess smiled at Maddie's attempt at a joke. 'I just don't know how to feel.'

'Well. Do you want a baby?'

'Yeah. Part of me does.'

'Well, then feel happy,' Maddie told her.

Jess pulled Maddie in for a hug. 'When did you get so wise?' she asked.

'I grew up pretty quickly. Someone had to keep Dad and Lily alive until you came along.' They both laughed at the joke. 'Now let's celebrate.'

But before they could, Jess's mobile chimed with the arrival of a text message.

 _Hey Jess,_

 _I know ur not feeling well and I h8 to ask. But somethings wrong w/ ADD and I could really use ur help._

 _X Connor_.

'I have to go into work,' Jess told Maddie as she typed off a reply to Connor.

Collecting her things again, Jess made her way out to her car. Pausing she looked back at Maddie. 'Let's keep this between us for now,' she told her daughter. Once Maddie had nodded her agreement, Jess got into her car and set off in the direction of the ARC.

* * *

Jess and Connor worked on the ADD for hours. At first, they had thought the problem may have been caused by some sort of virus or malware that may have been downloaded onto the server. But after spending two hours going through the ADD's external hard-drive, all they had found out was that all systems were running properly and that there was no evidence of malware. Still needing to know what was causing the problem they decided to look at the physical components of the device.

Grabbing a tool kit each, Connor and Jess set about dismantling the ADD so they could check for problems in its internal hardware. Unsurprisingly, this was a time consuming process, even with the two of them working on it. The ADD was compiled of a number of different parts, and Jess and Connor had to check each one to find what was causing the issue.

Eventually they located the source of the problem. The outer casing of one of the internal parts had corroded away, causing the motherboards it protected to malfunction. Thankfully, to fix the problem, all they had to do was replace the part and then recalibrate the device.

'And you thought I was being ridiculous when I ordered spear parts for the ADD to be kept onsite,' Jess said to Connor as they entered the empty lab used to store electrical equipment.

'Alright, I give,' Connor said, raising his hands in surrender. 'You were right, keeping spear parts at the ARC was a brilliant idea. Trying to track down parts at this time would be a nightmare.'

Jess laughed as she grabbed the part they needed off a shelf. They returned to the Ops centre and worked as quickly as they could to repair the ADD, both of them wanting to get home to their families.

By the time Jess got home, it was past the time Lily normally went to bed and Jess was exhausted. Between the meeting at Maddie's school, fixing the ADD and finding out she was pregnant, all of Jess's energy had been drained. All she wanted to do now was crawl into bed and go to sleep.

Opening the front door, Jess heard voices coming from the kitchen.

'Thanks for letting me stay for dinner Hil,' said a woman's voice.

Jess screwed up her face; she recognised that voice.

 _Bianca._

'Lily insisted,' Becker replied.

Jess smiled at the thinly veiled distain in her husband's voice.

'Still,' Bianca continued. 'It was nice getting to spend time with you again. I've missed it.'

'Yeah, well, you were the one who chose to walk away nine years ago.'

'I know.' Bianca's voice had gone soft and Jess wondered what she was up to. 'At the time I wasn't able to see how good what we had was . It was good, wasn't it?'

'It was,' Becker said, his voice hard.

Jess frowned, where was this going?

'We had fun, didn't we?'

'We did,' Becker replied, his voice controlled to reveal no emotions.

'Don't you ever miss what we had?' Bianca pressed further.

'I have, at times, but-'

'Hil, I'm back,' Jess called as she walked towards the kitchen, cutting off the rest of what Becker was going to say. She didn't want to hear what the end of that sentence would be, there was no way she was letting Becker air any of their problems—problems she wasn't aware they had—to his ex-fiancé. Again.

'Did you get that problem at work fixed,' Becker asked, coming over to give Jess a peck on the lips.

'Yeah, it's all sorted. Connor and I had to go through every piece of hardware that made up the damn thing, but we found the problem. It should be as good as new now.'

'I knew you'd work it out, you're brilliant after all. Though knowing you, you haven't eaten. Shall I warm you up something?' Becker asked, a playful smile on his face.

Jess smiled. 'Mmm, that'd be great.'

'I should probably be going,' Bianca said, rising from her seat at the breakfast bench.

'Bianca, what a nice surprise,' Jess said, pretending that she hadn't noticed the other woman. 'Did you have dinner with the girls today?'

'Yes, Hil was nice enough to let me join them.'

'Oh how nice. I'm sure Lily and Maddie would have enjoyed that,' Jess said, voice so sweet she could feel the cavities developing.

'Yeah. Anyway I'll leave you to it,' Bianca said, collecting her bag.

'I'll walk you out.'

The two women walked down the hall in silence. Without Becker or the girls around, there was no need to pretend they actually got along.

It wasn't until they had reached the front door, and Bianca was on the other side of the threshold, that Jess spoke.

'I know what you're up too,' she told Bianca. 'It won't work. Hilary loves me. MY daughters love me. If I were you, I'd quit while I can.'


	9. Truths

**Haunted**

 **Chapter 9 – Truths**

It had been two days and Jess still hadn't told Becker about the baby. She simply hadn't had the time to. Every time she thought she'd found the right moment, something else would come up; an anomaly calling them back to work, the girls needing them. It was beginning to seem like the universe didn't want Becker knowing about the baby.

Though maybe it wasn't entirely the universe's fault. There was a part of Jess that was afraid to tell Becker the truth. She was scared of how he would react. Would he be happy, like Maddie seemed to think he'd be? Or would he not want another child? After all he already had two and he'd never spoken about wanting more.

Then to make everything worse, Jess couldn't get the conversation she'd overheard between Becker and Bianca out of her head. How could he miss being with that conniving woman? Jess had thought he loved her as much as she did him. She thought they were happy together. But it seemed like the last five years hadn't meant as much as she'd thought they did.

With all this on her mind, plus the added hormones brought on by pregnancy, it was hard for Jess to really focus on anything else. Even now, as she sat in the break room with her friends, her husband's arm wrapped around her shoulders, she couldn't really enjoy herself. As they all laughed at a joke, Jess had trouble forcing a small smile onto her face.

'Seriously though, deciding not to have kids was the best decision you could have made.' Connor's words drew Jess's focus back to the conversation.

'Connor,' Abby chided.

'What? I love Nick and Dan, but my God they're more exhausting than chasing dinosaurs.'

Abby rolled her eyes. 'They're two-year-old twin boys Con, of course they're exhausting.'

'You guys decided not to have kids?' Jess asked, looking at Matt and Emily, the only childless couple among them.

'We feel it is for the best,' Emily said. 'Neither of us believe we would be able to adequately raise a child. After all, we know nothing of childhood in this time period.'

'That's so sad though,' Jess said, her hormones acting up again.

'We're fine Jess. This is what we both want,' Matt said, Emily nodding along beside him.

'What about you two,' Connor said turning to Jess and Becker. 'You're both still young, you could still pop a few kids out.'

Feeling her face heating up, Jess looked away from her friends. She felt like all her secrets had been exposed. Like Connor knew what she was hiding and was trying to force it out of her.

 _Get a grip. Connor doesn't know anything,_ Jess told herself.

'We've already got two kids,' Becker answered for both of them.

'Yeah, but don't you want more?' Connor pushed.

'We've just got to the point where they're able to start caring for themselves, why would we go backwards?'

The implications of Becker's words rang in Jess's head. He was happy they were almost done raising the girls. And why wouldn't he be? Unlike Jess, he had been a parent since he was seventeen. He'd been responsible for caring for a child, teaching them right from wrong and providing a stable environment for the last fourteen years of his life. And he still had another nine years before he was truly done.

Of course he didn't want more kids. He had missed out on what was meant to be the fun and adventurous part of his life. It made sense that he would be waiting for the girls to be grown up, then he'd be able to reclaim that time.

 _Oh God, he doesn't want kids. He's gonna leave me. I'm going to be a single mother._ Jess's mind began whirling.

Feeling like she was starting to panic, Jess rose from her seat. 'I better get back to work,' she told the others, surprised at how calm she sounded.

Jess was careful to keep her composure as she left her friends and headed straight for the locker room that was usually empty during the day. She didn't want anyone to know how affected she had been by Becker's words. She had been genuinely surprised that Becker was so against having any more children. Sure they already had two daughters that they loved dearly, but Jess had always thought they'd have at least another two. Growing up in a small family—her and her brother were the only children—she had always been obsessed with the idea of a large family. She had decided as a child that she wanted no less than four kids. Something she had thought she would get when she adopted Lily and Maddie. After all, it meant she'd only have to go through pregnancy twice.

Jess had lost track of how long she had been sitting in the locker room, lost in thoughts of raising this baby alone, when the door opened and she was joined on the bench she had claimed.

'I was wondering where you had disappeared to,' Matt said.

'I just… came to fix my makeup,' Jess told him.

'And that always takes half an hour?'

'Sometimes. Has it really been that long?' Jess asked, looking at Matt.

He nodded his response.

'Huh. I hadn't realised.'

Matt could hear in Jess's voice that something was bothering her. You didn't get to know someone as well as he knew her and not learn to recognise their moods.

'Are you okay?' he asked.

Jess sighed. There was no point trying to lie to Matt, he'd get it out of her eventually. 'Not really.'

'What's wrong? You seemed okay at lunch.'

'I was surprised by what Becker said.'

'About what?'

'Not wanting to have any more kids.'

Matt nodded. 'I'm guessing that you do want more.'

'Yeah. You know me, I've always wanted a big family, and when we got married I was sure I was going to get one. I figured Becker and I would have a couple kids together, after all I've never done the baby stuff and you know Lily would love being a big sister.'

Matt laughed at the idea of Lily with younger siblings. The nine-year-old had voiced her opinion, on more than one occasion, on how unfair it was that she didn't have anyone younger than her to boss around.

'I figured when I adopted Maddie and Lily,' Jess continued, 'that the big family I'd always wanted was practically guaranteed.'

'I wouldn't worry about it Jess,' Matt said, nudging her shoulder. 'You and Becker are the youngest out of the lot of us, you have plenty of time to talk and work out what you want. It's not like you're expecting a baby now.'

Jess's hand unconsciously fell to her stomach.

'Unless you are, and that's why you're so upset,' Matt said noticing her hand move. 'Are you?'

Jess nodded. 'And he doesn't want kids. Matt, what am I going to do?'

Matt pulled her into an embrace. 'You're going to tell him, and everything's going to be fine, because under all those oafish qualities, Becker is actually a good man.'

'But what if he freaks out?'

'Then I'll just have to shoot him again,' Matt said, trying to lighten the mood.

Jess appreciated the effort, but she was too worried to do much more than muster a small smile.

* * *

By the time Jess got home that evening, she felt drained. Ever since Bianca had turned up in their lives she had felt like she was on an emotional rollercoaster. And now with the baby, and the uncertainty surrounding how Becker would react, she could barely bring herself to walk up the few steps leading to their house.

She flopped down onto the couch as soon as she was inside, needing a moment of peace to centre herself.

She had been seated less than five minutes when the sound of the front door slamming shut jolted her back to reality.

'Mummy! Daddy! We're home,' Lily called.

Ignoring the disappointment she felt at her alone time being over before it begun, Jess called; 'I'm in the living room Hun.'

Coming into the room, Lily curled up on the couch next to her mother and begun regaling Jess with everything she had done that day at school. Lily was half way through the story of what happened in her science class when Bianca walked into the room.

'Hope you don't mind Jess,' she said, fake cheeriness dripping in her voice. 'But I bumped into Hil earlier today and he invited me to join you for dinner again.'

Forcing the same amount of fake cheer into her voice, Jess replied; 'of course not. I'm sure the girls would love you to join us.'

'Yeah, Hilary said you wouldn't mind.'

Anger surged through Jess at the smugness clearly displayed on Bianca's face.

'Lily, why don't you go change out of your school clothes, dinner won't be long,' Jess said, not wanting her daughter to see how upset she was. 'Tell Maddie to do the same.'

'Okay,' Lily said, hopping up and leaving the room.

Jess stood and strode over to the other woman. 'I told you already that I can see what you're doing. And it's not working. No matter what you think, I'm not going anywhere. This in MY family, and NOTHING will change that.'

'Are you sure about that?' Bianca asked, smirking. 'Because the way I see it, someone so sure about their place wouldn't feel the need to keep reaffirming it.'

'Think what you want, but Hil loves me,' Jess said her voice emotionless. There was no way she was going to let on to the fact that lately she had been feeling anything but sure about her standing in this family.

'Oh I don't doubt that,' Bianca said, crossing her arms. 'But the question is how much longer is that going to last? We both know he's being thinking about how good life was when the two of us were together. We also both know that Hil and I would still be together today if it weren't for that unfortunate incident.'

Jess crossed her arms, mimicking Bianca's stance. 'You mean you abandoning him to raise your kids alone?' Jess asked, eyebrows raising.

Bianca waved her hand, as though to wave Jess's accusation away. 'Water under the bridge babe. He'll be crawling back to me the moment he realises we want the same things in life. To finish raising our kids and then making up for lost time. Something he can't have with you. You're young, probably want kids of your own, and I'll let you in on a little secret. No matter how much Hil loves those girls, no matter how much he says he wouldn't change having them in his life, it doesn't change the fact that before I got pregnant, he was always adamant about the fact that he _never_ wanted children.'

Jess felt Bianca's words like a slap across the face. On any other day, she would assume it was just Bianca trying to get under her skin. But after what had happened at lunch, she wasn't so sure. Becker had eluded to the fact that he didn't want any more children, and Bianca's words just reinforced the idea. If he hadn't wanted kids then, why would he want _more_ now?

'Get out,' Jess said, her voice low so the girls wouldn't over hear.

Taking a seat on the couch, Bianca crossed one leg over the other. 'Honey, I'm not going anywhere.'

And for the second time in a matter of weeks, Jess found herself storming out of her house. It went against every ounce of her better judgment—storming out basically told Bianca she'd won—but she couldn't take being around that woman for another second.

She was so angry she wasn't even aware of the fact that she took off down the street at a speed well above the legal limit. And she didn't become aware until it was too late to avoid colliding with an oncoming car.


	10. Bad News

**A/n:** Thank you to everyone who's continued to read and review, I love that you're all enjoying the story. The Next few chapters are going to be pretty drama filled so I'm going to try to update regularly. Enjoy the new chapter X

* * *

 **Haunted**

 **Chapter 10 – Bad News**

When Becker woke up the next morning there was no sign that Jess had come home the night before. However, he refused to worry, after all, it wouldn't be the first time that Jess had stayed at work all night, trying to rectify whatever problem had occurred.

Yesterday Becker had arrived home, arms filled with groceries, intending to cook Jess's favourite meal for dinner. She had seemed stressed for the last few days and Becker wanted to do something to lift her spirits. Only, when he had finally made it inside the house, he saw there was no sign of his wife anywhere. But before he had a chance to panic, Bianca reassured him that Jess was fine and had simply been called back to work.

'Something about a problem with the main frame,' Bianca had told him.

Becker had found it strange that he wasn't made aware of the problem, but pushed the feeling aside—surely if it became a threat to security he would be called—and begun preparing dinner.

Later he went to bed unworried about the fact that he hadn't heard from Jess. She was safe in the ARC, surrounded by trained soldiers, and would call when she got the chance. Making sure his phone's volume was all the way up—so he wouldn't miss it when Jess was able to call—Becker tried to get some sleep.

But that had been over eight hours ago, and still there wasn't so much as a text message from Jess.

Trying not to worry—something he wasn't particularly good at when it came to the people he cared about—Becker set about getting the girls ready for school. There had to be a perfectly good explanation for why Jess hadn't got in touch with him. Her phone could've died. Or she could've been so caught up in her work that she didn't realise how much time had passed, it wouldn't be the first time that had happened. Or maybe she had finished late at night and been too tired to drive home, so she slept at work, that wouldn't be a first time occurrence either.

That had to be it. She was still at the ARC, either having worked through the night or gone to sleep in the infirmary.

Becker checked the time; 7:30am, if he hurried he could stop by the café Jess liked on the way to work and bring her something for breakfast. Lacing up his shoes, he grabbed his keys and wallet and went in search of Maddie.

The teenager was sitting in the living room, reading while she ate a bowl of cereal.

'Mads, I need you to help Lil get to school today,' he told his daughter.

'That's gonna add fifteen minutes onto my trip,' Maddie whined.

'I know, and I'm sorry. But I have to leave early today so I have time to check in on Jess.'

'Did she work through the night?' Maddie asked, concern displayed on her face.

'Looks that way.'

'Dad you gotta make Mum promise not to do that again, it's not good for the…' Maddie began, managing to catch herself before she let slip the news about the baby. As far as she knew, Jess still hadn't told Becker. 'For the… the state of her health.'

Becker raised an eyebrow at her, not buying the excuse. 'Right. Well, you don't need to worry about that, Jess is perfectly healthy. But I'll talk to her, I don't like her out all night either.'

Leaning down, Becker kissed Maddie on her forehead, said goodbye to Lily, and then was out the door and jogging to his car.

Pulling out of the driveway he headed off in the direction of the ARC.

* * *

The first thing Becker did upon arriving at the ARC was stop in at the infirmary, thinking it would be the most likely place for him to find Jess. However, he checked every room and there was no sign of her.

Becker sighed. _She must have spent the night working._

Leaving the med bay, he marched to the Operations Centre, expecting to find Jess sitting at the ADD working, that is, if she hadn't fallen asleep at her desk. People were moving out of his way as Becker stormed down the corridor. They all knew better than to get in the captain's way when he had that look of determination on his face.

Stepping into the Ops Centre, Becker stopped short. Again, there was no sign of Jess. Becker was starting to panic now. Where could she be? He prayed nothing had happened to her.

Seeing his friends at the other end of the room, Becker crossed the space to join them. Surely Matt would know where Jess was.

'Have any of you seen Jess?' he asked, interrupting whatever conversation was taking place.

'No. Did you not coming in together this morning?' Emily asked, confused as to why Becker would think they knew where Jess was.

'She got called back into work last night before I got home, apparently there was some tech problem she had to fix. But she must have worked through the night, I haven't seen her since yesterday afternoon.'

'There haven't been any problems since the one Jess and I fixed a couple days ago,' Connor said, frowning. 'If there had been I would have been called in as well.'

'Then where the hell is she!' Becker exclaimed, panic gripping at his chest.

'Relax,' Matt said, gripping Becker's shoulder. 'It was probably just a minor problem and that's why Connor wasn't called in.'

'Then why did it take all night?' Becker said, not accepting Matt's explanation.

'Maybe she was just too tired to drive home and went to sleep in the med bay. She's done that before,' Matt reasoned.

'You think I didn't check there already! She's not there! And she's not at her desk either, before you go giving me another obvious place to check.'

'Easy mate, I'm just trying to help.' Matt kept his voice calm and raised his hands as he spoke, not wanting to provoke Becker any further.

'Perhaps she is in your office,' Emily offered. 'You have a couch in there, don't you Captain?'

'Yeah.' Becker turned to go check his office, but his phone rang before he had taken a single step away from the group.

 _What now?_

Pulling the phone out of his pocket, Becker saw that the call was from an unknown number. Hoping it didn't have anything to do with Lily or Maddie, he answered; 'Becker.'

' _Hello, is this Captain Hilary Becker?_ ' asked the woman on the other end of the line.

'It is.'

' _Are you the husband of a Ms Jessica Parker?'_

'Yes.' Becker's heart skipped a beat at Jess's name.

' _Captain, I'm calling from St Mary's Hospital. I'm sorry to inform you that your wife was involved in a car accident last night between 6 and 7pm.'_

'What! Is she okay? Why am I only being informed now?' Becker could see the curiosity and concern on his friends' faces, but at the moment all he cared about was Jess.

' _Unfortunately it was a large accident, with multiple cars involved. Your wife wasn't found with identification at the scene and has yet to regain consciousness, as a result we had to go through different channels to identify her. You see how this would have taken some time.'_

'Fine, but how is she.'

' _As I said, she is still in a state of unconsciousness and doctors have been working around the clock to determine the extent of her injuries. As such, she has been emitted as a patient here and because of this we need you to come in and finalise some paper work.'_

'I understand,' Becker said, his voice had gone quiet as the fight drained out of him. 'I'll be right there.'

' _Thank you, and again, my deepest sympathies.'_

Becker hung up the call and finally acknowledged the people around him. Connor, Matt and Emily all looked at him with varying degrees of worry and concern on their faces. They may not have been able to hear what was being discussed, but they could tell from Becker's reaction that it wasn't good news.

'That was… St Mary's Hospital. Jess was in a car accident. I… I have to go.' Turning away from them Becker went to leave the room, only thinking about how he had to get to Jess.

'Oh no you don't,' Matt said as he caught up to Becker. 'You're not going on your own. Emily and I will come with you. I'll drive. Connor, you tell Lester what's happened and that you can reach me and Emily at the hospital if there's an anomaly. Becker's off duty, his second-in-command will handle any security issues.'

Connor nodded and took off in the direction of Lester's office, while Matt, Emily and Becker made a b-line for the carpark.


	11. At the Hospital

**Haunted**

 **Chapter 11 – At The Hospital**

The moment Matt had parked in the hospital carpark, Becker was jumping out of the 4x4 and running towards the main entrance, barely remembering to close the car door behind him. All he had been able to think about on the way there, was getting to Jess, and how they would've been at the hospital already if Matt had let him drive. A thought that was not received well when his frustration made him voice his opinion.

'I know,' Matt had said. 'That's why I'm driving. We don't need you getting into a car accident as well.'

Reaching the building, Becker slowed from a jog to a more suitable pace, not wanting to frighten the nursing staff. His friends behind him, Becker located the nearest nurses station.

'Hi, how can I help you?' asked the nurse behind the desk.

'I'm looking for Jessica Parker. She was brought in last night after a car accident.'

'Yes, I see that in her file. However, she's being treated at the moment and I'm afraid I can only give information on her condition to family.'

'I realise that,' Becker said trying to remain calm. 'My name's Hilary Becker, I'm Jess's husband. I was told to come down here.' This nurse was really starting to get on Becker's nerves.

'Yes, they would have needed you for some paper work.' The nurse shifted through a pile of papers on the desk, before pulling out a file and handing it to Becker. 'We just need you to fill these out so we can properly treat your wife.'

'Fine,' Becker said, taking the paper. 'But are you able to tell me how she is?'

'Of course. Jessica has sustained whiplash, as well as blunt force trauma. Basically, she knocked her head quite badly which caused her to black out. We won't know the extent of the damage until she wakes up, which she has yet to do. However, we're optimistic about her condition. She is a far cry from the worst we've seen over the course of last night.'

'Can I see her?'

'I'm afraid at the moment that's not possible. There have been signs that suggest some internal bleeding may have occurred. Her doctor is with her now. If you take a seat in the waiting room, someone will come get you soon.'

'Fine,' Becker said, not liking the situation, but knowing it was the best he could hope for at the moment. This wasn't the ARC med bay; he couldn't use his position to influence people into allowing him to see his wife any sooner. He turned and was about to walk away when Matt's voice stopped him.

'What about the baby?' Matt asked.

Three sets of eyes locked on to the Irish man.

'Matt, perhaps it would be best for you to elaborate,' Emily said when it became clear no one else had any intention of saying anything.

'Right. God, I'm sorry you're finding out this way Mate,' Matt said, looking at Becker. 'Jess is pregnant.'

Becker's mind shut down at that information. He could hear the nurse asking Matt if he knew how far along she was, and he could hear Matt's response. But none of their words actually registered in his head. He was barely aware of it as Matt and Emily lead him into the waiting room and sat him down. It didn't register with him when one of them took the forms out of his hands and begun filling them in.

All he could think about was the emotions in constant flux inside him. His worry for Jess and his need to see her was fighting with the joy he felt at finding out he was going to be a father again, both feelings wanting the dominate position in his mind. It was a fight neither emotion was going to win. Anyone who knew Becker knew that when it came to the people he cared about, he wouldn't stop worrying about them until he could see with his own eyes that they were okay. But every now and then, that worry would give way to pure happiness.

From the day Maddie was born, Becker had loved every moment of being a father. Yes, it was often hard—especially during the years where he was raising his two girls alone—but all the good moments made everything worthwhile. To this day he couldn't think of anything that made him feel as happy as he did the first time he got to hold each of his daughters. The only thing that had come remotely close was the day he had married Jess.

And the thought that he'd get to do it all again, this time with Jess by his side experiencing everything with him, made him happier than he had any right to be. His wife was lying somewhere in this hospital, unconscious, and he was sitting out here, fighting back the smile that threatened to overcome his face every time he thought about having a third child.

 _What is wrong with me?_

'Captain, is everything alright?' Emily asked. 'You appear to be experiencing pain of some sort.'

'I'm fine.'

'Jess'll be fine Mate,' Matt said, clapping him on the shoulder. 'You'll see. She's a fighter.'

'It's not that. I mean, it is. It's just…it's complicated,' Becker told them. Getting up, he began pacing the length of the room.

'What's bothering you? Other than Jess's condition, that is. Are you worried about how your daughters will cope with finding out their mother was involved in an automotive accident?' Emily asked.

'It's mostly just worry for Jess. God, I hadn't even thought about how the girls are gonna take the news. All I can think about is what Matt told me… us.'

'Hey,' Matt said, raising his hands in mock surrender. 'I wouldn't have said anything if it wasn't necessary. Don't pull me into this fight.'

'What fight?' Becker asked, looking at his friend in confusion. 'I'm thrilled. And that's the problem. I shouldn't be feeling happy while Jess is lying in a hospital bed unconscious.'

Emily rose from her seat and walked over to the captain. 'Hilary,' she said, grabbing his arm.

It was the use of his first name—a name not even Jess used—more than the hand on his arm that made Becker pause his pacing and look down at the Victorian woman.

'It is okay to feel excited about a new child,' Emily continued, her eyes locked on Becker's. 'It does not diminish your concern for Jess. Just like you not having had a moment to think of your daughters does not change how much you care for them.'

Becker smiled at Emily. She had a habit of putting things into perspective, a habit that made many members of the ARC team seek her out when they needed to see a situation more clearly. It was a habit that Becker usually found annoying, especially when she used it to point out flaws in a plan while they were out in the field. But right now, seeing things in perspective was exactly what Becker needed to be doing.

Feeling less tense, Becker returned to his seat and they resumed waiting to be updated on Jess's condition.

Becker allowed himself to entertain ideas of what having a baby with Jess would be like. After all, thinking about the future they were about to have together was better than the alternative. Which was worrying about whether they would get any future at all.

Soon enough, Becker caught sight of Connor and Lester rushing into the waiting room.

'We came as soon as we could,' Lester said as he and Connor reached the small group. 'How is she?'

Becker recapped what the nurse had told them about Jess's condition, explaining how they were now waiting for someone to give them an update in light of the new information Matt provided.

'Why didn't you tell us about the baby yesterday?' Connor asked. 'What was with all that 'we're almost done raising children' stuff.'

'I didn't know then; Jess hadn't told me. Technically she still hasn't. I only know now because Matt asked the nurse about it.'

'Deal with the semantics of it later,' Lester said, cutting off whatever reply Connor had. 'What we need now is a member of staff who isn't entirely incompetent that can explain what the hell is going on.'

But before Lester had a chance to go off and try to intimidate the nursing staff into telling them how Jess was, their small group was approached by a woman in a white doctors' coat.

'Captain Becker?' she asked.

Becker stood up and pushed his way to the front of the group. 'I'm Captain Becker. How's Jess?'

The doctor smiled at him sadly. 'Perhaps we should talk in private.'


	12. Diagnosis

**Haunted**

 **Chapter 12 – Diagnosis  
**

Becker didn't like the fact that she asked to speak to him in private. That couldn't be a good sign. Surely if everything was fine she would just tell him Jess was okay, regardless of the other people with him.

'That's not necessary,' Becker told her. 'These people are practically family; whatever you tell me I'll just have to repeat back to them.'

The doctor nodded. 'Very well. Your wife has regained consciousness and we were able to determine the extent of her head injury.'

Becker sagged in relief at the news that Jess was awake. 'Can I see her?' he asked.

'Patients please Captain; you need to be aware of the full extent of her condition.'

Becker nodded, indicating that the doctor should continue.

'As I was saying, we were able to determine the extent of her head injury. At the moment it appears to be nothing more than a concussion; however, we will need to keep her under observation for the next twenty-four hours to ensure it doesn't develop into anything worse. But I'm optimistic that she'll recover quickly. She has a few bruised ribs, as well as a bruised collar bone, that'll probably cause her to be in pain for some time, but it's nothing to worry about. We also believed there to have been some internal bleeding, but once we got the information you provided, we realised that was a misdiagnosis.'

Becker took a deep breath as he took in the information. 'Thank God,' he said on the exhale.

'There's one other thing you need to be made aware of, and I'm afraid it's not good news,' the doctor continued, the whole team tensing at her words. 'Nurse Darcy told me of Jessica's pregnancy and I re-examined her. The trauma your wife endured has caused her to miscarry. I'm so sorry.'

It felt like a vice had been placed around Becker's chest the moment the doctor said it wasn't good news. And with each sentence it tightened, until Becker found it hard to breath. Then when she told him Jess had had a miscarriage he lost all sensation.

Collapsing into a chair, Becker tried to process what this meant, but all he could focus on was how numb he felt. How could this be happening? Just moments ago he was over joyed at the thought of having another child and now…? Now he felt nothing. No joy. No worry. Just nothing.

It wasn't until Connor asked him how he was that he realised he had tears running freely down his face.

Becker looked at Connor and it seemed that look was enough to answer his question, because Connor immediately said; 'Right. Stupid question.'

Connor moved to sit next to Becker. 'I'm sorry Mate, I can't imagine what you're going through.'

Becker wiped a hand over his face, trying to regain his composure. 'This is stupid,' he said. 'How can I be this upset over loosing something I've only known about for a few hours?'

'You're upset because your kids are the most important thing to you, anyone who's known you for at least an hour can see that,' Connor told him. 'Frankly, I'd be a little worried if you had just taken the news in stride and moved on.'

A nurse joined them then and informed Becker that Jess was asking for him. This caused Becker to being panicking all over again. How was he going to face Jess? How was he supposed to tell her that she'd had a miscarriage? He didn't know how she had felt about the baby in the first place, but he knew Jess well enough to know that she wasn't going to take the news of losing it lightly. It was going to crush her. He can't do that to her, not after the trauma she's experienced.

'I can't. I can't see her, not like this,' Becker said, voicing his thoughts.

Surprisingly it was Lester who got him to calm down and re-focus. 'That's not an option Captain,' Lester told him. 'Right now, you need to pull yourself together and be there for your wife. We both know Jess isn't going to take this news well. You need to help her process what has happened, then you can grieve the loss of your child together.'

Becker nodded, knowing Lester was right in this instance. He took a deep breath to centre himself, then followed the nurse to Jess's room, leaving their friends to wait in anxious anticipation for their turn to see the young woman they all cared deeply about.

* * *

Pausing outside Jess's hospital room, Becker took a moment to collect himself. Lester was right, right now he needed to make sure Jess was recovering properly. There would be time for them to grieve together once she was on the mend.

Taking a deep breath, he put his hand on the door knob and slowly opened the door. The sight that greeted him made the vice that been around his chest all day tighten once again.

Jess lay in the bed in the middle of the room, connected to various machines. Pillows were used to prop her up into a sitting position. It made her appear smaller and more vulnerable than she had ever seemed before. Despite being the youngest senior team member at the ARC and only inches taller than their teenage daughter (with heals on) Jess had an air about her that made her seem untouchable. She handled stressful situations on a daily basis without breaking a sweat and she wasn't one to back down from a fight when it came to something important to her. But in this condition, that air faded away, leaving someone young and in need of protection in its place.

Closing the door softly, Becker moved across the room to sit in the chair by the bed. The chair legs scrapped against the floor and Jess turned her head in the direction of the noise. Slowly, she opened her eyes, and Becker found himself staring into her tired gaze.

'Becker?' Jess asked, her voice quiet.

Becker moved so he was perched on the edge of the seat and clasped one of her hands between his. Raising it to his lips he kissed her knuckles.

'Shhh, I'm here,' he told her. 'You're going to be okay. How do you feel?'

Jess coughed, trying to clear her throat. 'Sore,' she told him, her voice sounding stronger.

'You've bruised your ribs and your collar bone, you're going to be sore for a while.' They fell into silence. The only things on Becker's mind were his curiosity as to why Jess never told him about the baby, how he was going to tell her that she had miscarried and the guilt he felt over not being here sooner.

Eventually, his guilt won out. 'I'm so sorry,' he told her. 'I should have been here sooner.'

'Hey, you came as soon as you could.'

'You were in the hospital for twelve hours and I had no idea. What kind of husband isn't there for his wife after she's been through something like this?'

'Hey,' Jess said as sternly as she could, considering her condition. 'None of this is your fault. If anyone's to blame here it's me. I should have known better than to drive a car in the state I was in.'

'What do you mean?' Becker asked, confused. What state was she referring too? It's not like being pregnant would affect her ability to drive to work. Not unless she was feeling tireder than usual as a result.

'I shouldn't have driven when I was that upset. But after fighting with Bianca, again, I just couldn't stand to be around her a second longer, so I got in my car and drove off. I was so upset I wasn't aware of my surroundings, or how fast I was going. I'm sorry I worried you.'

Becker frowned. 'If you were so upset, why did you agree to go back into work?'

'What do you mean?' Jess asked, clearly just as confused as her husband. 'I didn't have any intention of going anywhere, I just need to get out of there so I could calm down.'

'She lied to me!' Becker exclaimed, jumping up to pace the length of the room. 'I can't believe it! Actually, I do believe it, this is exactly the type of underhanded thing she would do. What I can't believe is that I actually thought she had changed.'

'I'm guessing it's Bianca you're ranting about.'

'I'm sorry Jess,' Becker said, sitting back down and taking her hand again. 'I let her become a bigger part of our lives than she ever had any right to be, and now look what's happened.'

'We made the decision to let her be a part of our lives together, we thought it was the right decision, the best thing to do for our daughters, there was no way we could've have foreseen this. I'll heal, and we can alter the level of involvement Bianca is allowed, but right now we have other things to—'

'Jess,' Becker said, cutting her off. 'I know about the baby.'

'Oh. Well, this isn't how I wanted you to find out, but at least you know. And now we can enjoy this time. We can start putting together a nursery. I saw the cutest nursery furniture and I've been dying to start buying little outfits. We'll also have to start looking into…' Jess's voice trailed off as she saw the tears gathering in Becker's eyes. 'Hil, what's wrong?'

'I'm so sorry Sweetheart,' Becker begun, his voice breaking. 'But the baby didn't survive the accident.'

Becker saw the exact moment his words registered reflected in her eyes. Getting up, Becker sat on the bed next to Jess, pulling her into his arms to hold her as she cried. They stayed like that until Jess had cried herself to sleep.


	13. Clarity

**Haunted**

 **Chapter 13 - Clarity**

Eventually, Jess's tears dried up and, giving in to her exhaustion, she fell asleep.

After checking in with a nurse, to ensure it was okay for Jess to sleep with her head injury, Becker took the opportunity to update their friends on her condition. Walking into the waiting room, he found that Abby had joined the group. She got up the moment she saw Becker and rushed to meet him.

'I came as soon as I could get someone to watch the boys,' she told him. 'How is she?'

By this point the rest if the team had joined them and Becker was able to update them all at once. 'Physically, she's still quite sore, but she'll recover. Emotionally, I'm not so sure. She didn't take the news well. But then, who would.'

'Connor told me about the baby. I'm so sorry Becker,' Abby said, pulling him into a hug.

Becker returned the embrace, taking comfort from his friend and preparing himself for what he had to do next.

'I need to tell the girls what's happened,' he said, pulling back. 'They'll have finished school by now and will be wondering where Jess is. She normally goes home early if she's had to work through the night. That's where they think she was yesterday. That's what we all thought.'

'Becker, you just focus on being here for Jess. Connor and I will meet Lily and Maddie at your place and bring them here.'

'Thanks guys. I know they're going to want to see Jess. Just don't mention the baby. They don't even know Jess was pregnant. I don't want to upset them more than necessary.'

'Of course,' Abby said. She grabbed Connor's arm and together they headed towards the exit.

As he watched them go, Becker felt more grateful for his friends than he ever had before. He didn't know how he would get through this without them.

Telling the remaining group that he'd let them know when Jess was awake, Becker left the waiting room to go back to sitting by Jess's bedside.

* * *

Once Jess has woken up again, there was a constant stream of people coming in and out of her room. Everyone wanted to know how their favourite field co-ordinator was doing.

Each time the door opened Becker would look up, expecting their daughters to come walking into the room. But they never did. It was always a nurse or doctor, or one of their team mates who came in to check on the injured woman.

Becker was beginning to wonder what was taking so long. Sure he and Jess didn't exactly live close by, but it shouldn't be taking Abby and Connor this long to be getting back to the hospital.

Trying, and mostly succeeding, to push his curiosity over his daughters' whereabouts to the side, Becker used this moment of peace to find out how Jess was doing.

'I'm still pretty sore,' Jess said sombrely.

Becker moved from the chair at her bedside and sat on the edge of her bed. That way they could look at each other as they spoke, without Jess having to turn her head.

'That's not what I meant,' Becker said. 'I meant how are you doing after the… news I gave you.'

Jess sighed. 'I'm grieving Becker; how do you think I feel?'

Becker frowned at how Jess addressed him. Not once in the last five years had she called him anything other than Hil—or Hilary if she was mad—unless they were at work. Sometimes even then she still refused to call him Becker, claiming it was weird to refer to her husband by his last name. But he pushed the feeling aside, it wasn't what was important right now.

'I know Jess, so am I.'

'But it's probably for the best,' Jess continued as if she hadn't heard him. 'After all, we never talked about having kids together, well, having _more_ kids. And now that I know your feelings on the matter, yeah, this is… this is what's best for us.'

Jess eyes glazed over as she spoke, and Becker could tell that she wasn't being honest with either of them.

'Jess, what are you talking about?' he asked, confused.

'I know you don't want any more kids, that you never really wanted kids to being with, and that's okay. I mean, yeah I've always wanted children, but it's fine because I've got Lily and Maddie, so it's not like I'm missing out on anything. Plus, I've been raising Lily since she was four so I've practically had her her whole life.'

'Where on earth did you get that idea?' Becker asked, more confused than he was to begin with.

Refusing to look at him Jess said; 'Bianca told me about how before Maddie came along, you always said you never wanted to have children.'

Becker sighed. 'I am really getting sick of this woman,' he said before reaching over and gently tilting Jess's head up, so she was forced to meet his eyes. 'Sweetheart, Bianca was the one who had never wanted children—which, come to think of it, should have been a major red flag—I've always wanted to be a father, heck I practically raised Melissa since our parents were too busy trying to climb the social ladder. Why else would I willingly walk away from my parents' house when I was only 17?'

'Okay, but what about what you said at lunch yesterday? When Connor asked us if we were planning on having kids together.'

Becker rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. 'Okay yeah, I probably could've chosen my response better. I just… we had never talked about whether we would have more kids, and I…I didn't want Connor forcing the conversation. You're still pretty young Jess, and I know this, our family, is what you want, but I didn't know if having more kids and going through pregnancy was something you were ready for. So I decided I wouldn't say anything until you brought it up, 'cause even if you didn't want to expand our family, and it was just the four of us, I'd be happy.'

Jess was quiet for a while, thinking through everything she had just heard. One thing was abundantly clear to her; ever since Bianca turned up they had become terrible at communicating properly with each other.

'I've always wanted a big family. And I figured, after I adopted Lily and Maddie, I would get that. And without having to carry them all myself. But you're right, I am still young. So until all this happened, I hadn't really thought about it. But I'm ready to take that step if you are.'

Becker beamed at her, and leaning over, pressed a kiss to her lips, careful not to cause her any more pain.

'Just promise me something,' Jess said when Becker pulled back. 'Promise me we won't let Bianca get between us again, and that we'll keep communicating like we used to.'

'I won't let any _one_ or any _thing_ get between us. I love you Jess, and nothing will ever change that.'

Jess smiled at him. 'I love you too Hil.'

Becker pressed a quick kiss to her forehead, then moved to sit back in the chair.

'Now rest,' he told her. 'We need you to get better.'

Becker stayed by her side until she fell asleep, and for the first time in weeks, Jess was able to sleep peacefully, knowing that everything was right in her world.


	14. Lasting Effects

**Haunted**

 **Chapter 14 – Lasting Effects**

The next time Jess's hospital room door opened it was to admit two very worried young girls.

'Mummy!' Lily cried, throwing herself onto the bed to hug Jess.

Jess grimaced as Lily's weight landed on her bruised body.

'Careful,' Becker said, catching the look on his wife's face. 'Let's not hurt Mum any more than she already is.'

Lily scrambled back quickly, eyes wide with worry. 'I'm sorry.'

'I'm okay Sweetheart,' Jess said, grabbing her hand. 'Especially now that you're both here.'

Maddie came around the bed, sitting down carefully on Jess's other side.

'What took you so long getting here?' Becker asked, curious about the delay. 'Abby and Connor left to pick you up ages ago.'

'We had to call Bianca and tell her that we wouldn't be seeing her today,' Maddie informed them. 'Then we got stuck in traffic. Uncle Connor thought he knew a short cut.'

Becker rolled his eyes. Trust Connor to take a short cut that just ended up delaying them further.

They fell into silence, each of them had a new appreciation for the other's company. Because of the silence they were able to hear the commotion going on out in the hall. Moments later the door to Jess's small room swung open and in walked the last person Jess and Becker wanted to see.

'I came as soon as I heard,' Bianca said, the door slamming behind her. 'My poor girls. Are you alright?'

Maddie rolled her eyes at the older woman's absurd behaviour. 'We're fine,' she said, her voice deadpanning. 'Mum was the one in the accident, not us.'

'What a relief. Not that I'm glad you're hurt Jessie,' Bianca said, turning to look at Jess as though she had only just noticed her lying in the bed.

Jess grimaced at the name. 'That's fine. I'd feel the same way if it was you lying in this bed.'

Bianca's eyes narrowed. 'Yes, well, I do hope you recover. Now, let's go girls.'

'No,' Lily said.

Bianca looked at her. 'But…it's your afternoon with me,' she said, clearly struggling to keep her voice calm.

'And I told you we would have to miss it because we had to come see Mummy. I'm not done seeing her yet,' Lily retorted, using what her parent's had dubbed her 'captain's voice'. It was a voice she had picked up after watching her father train his soldiers a few times when she was five years old and she used it whenever she wanted to be taken seriously. Becker and Jess had found it cute when they realised she was imitating her father, but the older she got, the more worried about it they became. If the habit followed her into her teens years, it could become a problem if she used it at the wrong time.

'Fine. Maddie, let's go.'

'If Lily's not going, I'm sure as hell not,' Maddie told her.

'What?!' Bianca shrieked. 'Do you know what I went through to get in here?'

'How did you get back here?' Becker cut in.

Bianca hesitated. 'That's…not important.'

'No, what's important is Jess being able to rest, and she can't with all this fighting. You need to leave,' Becker said.

Getting up Becker grabbed Bianca's arm and led her from the room.

'You know you can go with her if you want,' Jess said as the door closed behind the two adults.

Lily shook her head vigorously. 'You're hurt. So we have to take care of you, like you take care of us.'

Jess smiled at her daughters. 'I'm going to be fine. You girls can go and do what you want.'

'And what we want is to stay here with you,' Maddie said.

Lily nodded her agreement.

'I don't think I want to see Bianca anymore,' Lily said after a moment's silence.

'Why not Sweetie?'

'Because she says mean things about you and Daddy.'

Jess frowned. The fact that Bianca would talk badly about Jess and Becker wasn't all that surprising, anyone who spent five minutes with them would be able to tell that there was tension between them. However, she couldn't believe that Bianca would stoop to talking about them with their daughters. That was low, even for her.

'It was wrong of her to say those things to you,' Jess said. 'But I'm sure she didn't mean to upset you. Are you sure you want to stop seeing her? She is your mother after all.'

'Barely,' Maddie scoffed. 'She doesn't care about us the way you do Mum. I can happily live without her.'

Jess smiled at her eldest daughter. 'What about you Lil,' she asked. 'Are you sure about this?'

Lily nodded. 'I don't need a second mother when I've already got the best one.'

Jess could feel tears pooling in her eyes and quickly wiped them away, not wanting Lily to misinterpret them and think she was upset. Reaching out she grabbed both her daughters' hands, squeezing them to convey the love she felt for them, since her injuries prevented her from pulling them both into her embrace.

'Mum?' Maddie asked hesitantly. 'How badly were you hurt?'

'I promise I'm fine,' Jess assured her. 'Really. It's nothing that I won't recover from in a few weeks.'

'Yeah, but, what about… you know.'

Jess's breath caught as she realised Maddie was asking about the baby.

'What?' Lily asked, looking at her mother and sister in confusion. 'What about what?'

Jess shook her head in response to Maddie.

'Oh,' the older girl said. 'I'm sorry Mum.'

'Why? What did you do? What aren't you telling me?' Lily continued to fire questions at them.

Jess explained to Lily about finding out she was pregnant and how the baby didn't survive the accident. By the time she had finished explaining, the tears had returned to Jess's eyes.

'It's okay,' Lily said, trying to comfort her mum. 'You still have us.'

Maddie rolled her eyes. 'That's not helping Lil. Mum wants to have her own kids.'

'But we're her kids,' Lily stated, confused as to what her sister meant.

'Only because she adopted us. She wants kids that are really hers, one's that'll grow up to look like her.'

Lily looked at Jess, her eyes going wide. 'Is that true?' she asked. 'We're not really your kids.'

'No, it's not true,' Jess said firmly. 'It is true that you're only mine because I adopted you, but I chose to do that because I love you guys and wanted you to be my kids. And nothing—not even me and Hil having more kids—will change that.'

Lily's shoulder slumped in relief.

'Honestly Maddie, what has gotten into you? Why would you say that?' Jess asked.

'I just don't understand why you've decided all of a sudden to have kids,' Maddie muttered, eyes down cast. 'You've been together for ages.'

'Most people wait a couple of years after getting married before they start having kids,' Jess said, confused as to why Maddie was having this outburst. She had seemed excited about the prospect of another sibling when Jess had first found out she was pregnant.

'Yeah but most couples don't already have kids that they struggle to spend time with. You and Dad do.'

 _Where is this coming from?_

'You know Hil and I spend as much time as we can with both of you.'

'Yeah, but if you have a baby, you'll have no time for us. Or is that what you want? Why don't you just admit that you don't think of us as your daughters?' Maddie voice rose as she continued making her accusations.

Lily remained quiet during the exchange, but Jess could tell she was affected by what Maddie was saying. She could see the tears beginning to gather in the nine-year-old's eyes.

Ignoring the pain, Jess reached out and pulled Lily into her embrace, pleased to find that Lily didn't fight her. Jess stroked her daughters back, soothing her quiet sobs.

'Maddie, I don't know where these feelings a coming from,' Jess begun. 'But I promise you, our decision to have more children has nothing to do with how either of us feels about the two of you. You're both growing up now, and you don't need your parents as much as before—which is good, it means we raised you to stand on your own, like we always hoped you would—but your dad and I aren't ready to stop being parents yet. I've always wanted at least four kids. But not if it's going to hurt the two of you. If you feel this strongly about it… then we won't have any more kids. At least not while you two still need us.'

Lily tighten her grip on Jess. 'I love you Mummy,' she said.

'I love you too.'

'No,' Maddie said. 'You can't do that for me.'

'I would do anything for you girls,' Jess said.

'No,' Maddie told Jess, her voice firm. 'Mum, if you give up kids for us, you'll end up resenting us. You may not think so now, but you will. And having you hate me would be worse than losing you. I guess, the idea of you being pregnant just brings up stuff from the last time I got a sibling.'

'That's not going to happen again,' Jess reassured her, pulling Maddie in so she was pressed against her side. At this point, Jess didn't care how much pain she was in, she just wanted to ensure her daughters were okay.

'I know,' Maddie replied quietly. 'I guess I have some stuff to work through.'

'That's okay, just remember that you have us here to help you.'

They fell into silence, Jess and Maddie both happy to have worked through the problem. At least for now. Jess knew that these feelings were likely to arise again, when and if her and Becker have another child, but she was sure that between the three of them, they would be able to work through Maddie's abandonment issues once and for all.

'If you and Daddy have a baby, does that mean I'll finally get to be the boss of someone?' Lily asked, causing Jess and Maddie to burst into laughter.


	15. Confrontation

**Haunted**

 **Chapter 15 – Confrontation**

Becker pulled Bianca out into the hallway, careful to ensure the door didn't slam shut behind him. It was time he and Bianca had a little talk.

Once they were far enough away from Jess's room, and he was confident they wouldn't be over heard, Becker released Bianca's arm. Turning to face the woman Becker clasped his hands behind his back and held himself up so he appeared as big as possible. It was a stance he only used when disciplining insubordinate soldiers, but he felt this occasion called for it.

'What are you doing here?' Becker demanded, his voice dangerously calm. It was a tone his colleagues recognised as trouble. He only ever spoke this calmly when someone had done something particularly idiotic at work. Whenever he used this voice, everyone knew to stay out of his way. No one wanted to be on the receiving end of the captain's fury. Thankfully, it wasn't a voice he had to use all that often, but again, it seemed like the situation called for it.

'I told you, I wanted to make sure my daughters were okay.'

'Cut the crap, we both that's not the reason you're here.'

Bianca stared at him. 'I honestly don't know what you mean.'

'Really? So you didn't come here to continue driving a wedge between me and Jess?'

'So you picked up on that?' Bianca asked, not caring that Becker had caught on to her charade.

Becker crossed his arms over his chest. 'I've known you since high school, of course I picked up on it. You really haven't changed that much.'

'Neither have you.' Bianca ran a hand over his left arm, squeezing his bicep.

Becker jerked his arm away from her touch. 'But I have. For one thing, the people I associate with now are far less sleazy.'

'You wound me Hil,' Bianca said feigning indignation. 'But I'm still willing to take you back.'

'Too bad I'm not willing to do the same.'

Bianca laughed. 'I've missed that sense of humour. But now's not really the time for jokes.' Bianca moved closer to him, placing a hand on his crossed arms and looking up at him with wide eyes. 'We could do it you know. Grab the girls and run off.' She began stroking his arms as she spoke. 'We'd be a family. Just like you always wanted.'

Becker stepped away from her. 'You're right. It was something I always _wanted_. Past tense. As in, not something I want anymore. And there's no way you'd get those girls to leave Jess, they love her, they barely like you.'

Bianca shrugged. 'Fine. Then we'll leave them with her and the two of us will start over. We always worked better when it was just us anyway.'

'Is that why you really came back? To rekindle what we once had.'

Bianca rolled her eyes. 'Well I didn't come back just to pretend to like those brats.'

Furious, Becker stepped close to Bianca, towering over her small frame. 'Leave,' he growled. 'You don't deserve those girls and if you think I would ever leave _Jess_ for _you_ , then you're delusional.'

Bianca's bravado fell away. 'But Hil—.'

'No, that's enough. Just leave. And don't even think about ever contacting us again.'

Turning, Becker walked away from Bianca. He paused when he reached the door to Jess's room and took a couple moments to get a grip on his emotions. Taking a deep breath, he pushed the door open.

Inside he found Lily and Maddie lying on either side of Jess, and though they were all laughing, he could tell that there had been tears not long ago.

'Is everything okay?' he asked, reclaiming the chair by the bed.

'We're good,' Maddie told him.

'Yeah Daddy, why would anything be wrong,' Lily added.

Becker felt like he was missing something, but as long as his girls were all alright, he didn't feel the need to find out what it was.

'Is everything okay with you?' Jess asked, picking up on his remaining tension.

Becker smiled as he looked at his wife and daughters. 'Everything's perfect,' he told them. And for the first time since Bianca showed up, it actually felt like everything between the small family was indeed perfect.


	16. Epilogue

**Haunted**

 **Epilogue**

Jess and Becker woke to the sounds of pots and pans crashing onto the kitchen floor. Groaning, Jess groped the bedside table in search of her phone. Squinting at the bright light, she checked the time; 8:00 am. Jess dropped her phone onto the bed and rolled over to face her husband.

'We should probably go see what's going on,' Jess whispered.

'Or…we could go back to sleep and pretend we didn't hear anything,' Becker replied as he pulled Jess into his arms. 'It doesn't sound like the twins are up yet.'

As soon as Becker had finished speaking, there came another clang from the kitchen, followed by loud cries ringing throughout the house. Sighing, the couple pulled apart and got out of bed.

'I'll go get the twins up, you see what the girls are doing,' Becker said as he pulled on a t-shirt.

'So much for sleeping in,' Jess muttered as she put her robe on over her pyjamas.

Becker crossed the room to kiss Jess. 'There's always tomorrow.'

'Unlikely.'

Following Becker from the room, Jess went off to see what her daughters were doing to make so much noise. As she approached the kitchen, Jess could hear frantic whispering coming from inside.

'Hailey! Stop dropping things. We don't want to wake up Mum and Dad!' Jenna was saying.

'Too late,' Jess said as she entered the room. 'You woke up your brother and sister as well.'

'Sorry Mum,' Jenna and Hailey said in unison.

'But it was Hailey's fault, she kept dropping everything.'

'I didn't mean to!' Hailey's eyes had gone wide and Jess could tell she was on the verge of tears.

'I know you didn't Sweetheart, it was an accident,' Jess said, picking the seven-year-old up. 'Jenna what have I told you about trying to get your sister in trouble?'

'Not to,' Jenna mumbled, her eyes downcast. 'But it was her fault.'

'I don't care who's fault it was.' Jess sighed, she needed a cup of coffee. 'What were you trying to do anyway?'

'We wanted to start making the cake for the party,' Hailey said, lifting her head from Jess's shoulder.

'I told you we would make it once Lily and Maddie are here,' Jess told the girls.

'But they'll be forever,' Hailey whined, drawing out the last word in the way only a seven-year-old could. 'We wanna bake now!'

Jess sighed, this wasn't how she had hoped this morning would go. 'Maybe there's something else we could make.'

Hailey sat up in her mother's arms. 'French toast!'

Jenna's eyes lit up at the prospect of their favourite breakfast. 'Please,' she pleaded.

Jess laughed. 'Alright. Jenna, you get out a frying pan and mixing bowl. Hailey, you help me get the ingredients ready.'

Jenna began searching the kitchen cupboards for the dishes her mother had asked for, while Hailey scrambled to the fridge the moment she was out of Jess's arms. Hailey emerged from behind the fridge door with a carton of eggs clutched between her hands and a bottle of milk balanced on top of it. She starred intensely at the bottle as she made her way to the bench, as though she was willing it to stay balanced on the carton. Making it to the bench with everything intact, Hailey breathed a sigh of relief as she set everything down. Laughing, Jess got the bread out of the breadbox and joined her daughter.

'That was very good balancing,' Jess said, stroking a hand over Hailey's head.

Hailey grinned at her mother's praise. 'I know,' she said devoid of modesty, prompting Jess to laugh again.

'Aha! Found it,' Jenna cried in triumph, lifting the pan she pulled from the cupboard above her head. Not waiting for instruction from Jess, she placed the pan onto the stove and turned the heat on, before joining Jess and Hailey with the mixing bowl. Having gathered everything that they needed, they began making breakfast. Hailey and Jenna took turns soaking slices of bread in the egg and milk mixture, while Jess handled the frying.

Not long after they began cooking, Jess heard the sound of uneven footsteps running towards the kitchen and they were joined by Max and Bella, Becker close on the twins' trail.

'Mama,' Max cried, waddling over to Jess and grabbing onto her leg.

'Good morning Baby Boy,' Jess said, picking up the three-year-old and balancing him on her hip. Turning to Becker she continued; 'I see they agreed to get dressed for once.'

'Yep,' Becker said, helping Bella into her seat at the breakfast bench. 'Once I told them that they couldn't have their presents unless they were dressed they changed pretty quickly.'

'You bribed them?' Jess asked indignantly.

Becker laughed. 'You're just mad that you didn't think of it.'

Rolling her eyes, Jess allowed Becker to take over cooking breakfast while she settled Max in alongside his sisters.

Soon enough the family of six was sitting down to breakfast, laughing at the twins' antics and trying to prevent them from making too big of a mess. The last thing they wanted was to have to clean the house a second time for the twins' birthday party that afternoon.

* * *

By the time Lily and Maddie arrived it was past 12 o'clock and they had to get straight into making the cake to have any hope of completing it by 3 that afternoon. The twins giggling could be heard in the living room as they helped—or attempted to help—Becker put up party decorations.

'No Max, I told you not to play with that,' they heard Becker say. Jess could only imagine what their mischievous boy had gotten into.

'I will never understand how Dad was able to raise us alone for four years, and yet he can't handle the twins by himself for more than twenty minutes,' Maddie said laughing.

'To be fair, it probably helped that we weren't infants at the same time,' Lily pointed out.

'Why didn't you help Mummy?' Hailey asked, looking up at Jess in confusion.

Jess smiled, running a hand over Hailey's head. 'I hadn't met Dad yet. Well I had, but I didn't know about Lily and Maddie.'

'You didn't know you had two daughters?'

Jenna groaned. 'Don't you pay attention to anything? Dad had Lily and Maddie with another woman when he was Lil's age. But she was a bitch so Dad had to look after them by himself until he and Mum feel in love and she became their mum.'

'Jenna, language!' Jess scolded. 'That's not a nice way to refer to someone.'

'Even if it is true,' Maddie muttered.

'Not helping,' Jess said to her eldest.

'But that's what you and Abby call her!' the nine-year-old protested.

'Well, we're going to stop too.'

Pouting Jenna returned to mixing the cake batter.

'I'll be back in a minute,' Jess said, wiping her hands on her apron. 'I'm just going to check on Hil and the twins.'

Jess crossed to the living room, unsure of what she would find. Despite this, the scene that met her still came as something of a surprise. Bella was sitting in the twins' portable cot, laughing as she watched Becker chase a streamer covered Max around the room.

Unnoticed, Jess backed quietly out of the room, Becker seemed to have everything under control. Returning to the kitchen Jess paused in the doorway, watching as her oldest children worked together to bake a cake for their younger brother and sister's birthday. Jess couldn't believe how lucky she was, and as she stood watching her daughters her mind drifted back over everything that had happened in the last ten years.

After Jess' miscarriage and Bianca once again leaving, the family had taken time to reconnect with each other. Though they were barely aware of it at the time, having Bianca in their lives for those few months had created a real rift between them. They had all needed time for their relationships to get back to what they had once been. Jess had also need the time to recover from the aftermath of her car accident. Both physically and emotionally. But recover she did and a year later—just two months after Lily turned ten—Jess and Becker welcomed another daughter into their family.

Jenna had been a fussy baby, which had often left Jess feeling overwhelmed—something Abby constantly reassured her was normal—but with Becker there to support her and answer any questions, Jess adjusted to being the mother of an infant. By the time they had Hailey two years later, there wasn't much Jess hadn't seen.

The birth of Hailey had given Jess that big family she had always wanted and together, her and Becker had decided that their family was the perfect size and not to have any more kids. But it turned out life had other ideas. Four years after the birth of their fourth daughter—exactly nine months after their nine-year wedding anniversary—Jess gave birth to the twins, Bella and Max.

No one had been surprised when, eight hours after Jess had gone into labour, Becker emerged into the waiting room to tell their friends that the first baby was a girl. What had surprised them was when he came back out twenty minutes later and told the waiting group that the second baby had been born, and it was a boy.

Thinking back on that day three years ago, Jess couldn't help but laugh.

Becker had returned to Jess's room with their friends trailing him, all wanting to see the new babies.

'Can we hold them?' Abby had asked as the group came to a stop at Jess's bedside.

'Sure, this is Max,' she said, handing the boy to Abby.

Swapping positions with Abby, Emily carefully lifted the other baby of Jess's arms. 'She is truly gorgeous,' Emily said. 'What name have you given her?'

'Bella,' Becker told them.

'Well, what d'ya know. Action Man's got a son,' Connor said, moving to stand by Abby. 'I gotta tell ya Mate, I was beginning to think you were only capable of having girls.'

'Connor! 'Abby scolded.

'I'm just teasing!' Connor protested. 'You must be excited to finally have a little Action Man, huh Mate?'

'Yeah,' Becker said, sounding nowhere near as excited as he was claiming to be.

'He's freaking out,' Jess told them.

'Why Mate?' Matt asked.

'Because I have no idea how to raise a son,' Becker said, taking Bella—who had started to fuss—back from Emily. 'Raising a daughter is easy, I've already got four of them, one whose already an accomplished adult. Sons are harder.'

'How so?' Emily asked.

'We've seen some poorly raised young men over the years,' Jess said, taking up the explanation. 'They would act out and were completely disrespectful. Neither of us want Max to grow up that way.'

'And I have no idea how to make sure he doesn't,' Becker confessed, sitting down on the bed beside Jess.

'You really have no clue do you Mate?' Connor said.

'Max'll be fine,' Abby said, handing the boy to his father. 'Because he'll learn from you.'

'You are a good man Captain,' Emily said. 'Your son will be one as well.'

'That's what I keep telling him,' Jess said. 'But you know what he's like, once he's got something to worry about he doesn't stop thinking about it.'

'Really Becker, how hard could having a son be,' Matt said. 'After all, Nick and Dan are turning out alright and they have Connor for a father.'

'Hey,' Connor protested as the group laughed.

* * *

Becker coming up and wrapping his arms around Jess pulled her away from her reminiscing. Jess leant back into her husband's embrace, her hands moving to rest on the arms around her waist. Tucking her head under Becker's chin Jess sighed in happiness.

'What are you thinking about?' Becker asked.

'The day Bella and Max were born,' Jess told him. 'We got pretty lucky didn't we? I mean, we've got six kids that get along with each other and are growing up to be good people and a group of friends that help us through everything from work stress to parenting worries.'

'Which is ironic when you think about it, considering we have more kids than all four of them combined.'

Jess laughed. 'Well, that's true. But it's still nice to have the help.'

'It is,' Becker said, kissing the top of her head. 'Your right, we're very lucky.'

Jess and Becker watched their four oldest daughters work in the kitchen, laughing together and making a bit of a mess. It made them incredibly happy knowing that all their children got along with each other. Jess had been worried during her first pregnancy that some of those original fears Lily and Maddie had had would re-emerge. But both girls had been excited by the prospect of another sibling and had happily helped set up the nursery.

'Where are the twins?' Jess asked, realising she hadn't heard them stumbling about in a while.

'You mean the terrors,' Becker replied, making Jess laugh. 'They're in the cot in the living room where they can't get into any mischief.'

Rolling her eyes, Jess pulled away from Becker's embrace. 'Honestly, it's like you've never been the parent of toddlers before,' Jess said as she entered the living room.

'Not of two at the same time!' Becker protested, following behind her.

'Mama!' Max cried as soon as he saw Jess. As Jess walked over to the cot, Max stood up and reached for her. 'Mama, Mama, Mama.'

'Hey Baby Boy,' Jess said picking him up. 'Do you want to come with Mama to see how your sisters are going making the cake?'

'Yeah cake!'

'We'll leave Daddy and Bella to finish decorating.'

As the pair left the room they could hear Bella squealing happily as she was taken out of the cot.

* * *

The party was a success. The ARC team along with Lester, Melissa and Jess's brother and nephews had all come over to celebrate with the Becker-Parker family. The twins had loved the amount of attention they got from all the people there for their birthday. Not a moment went by where someone was interacting with them and Jess could tell it made both three-year-olds incredibly happy.

Finishing the last of the clean-up, Jess collapsed on to the couch in exhaustion, curling up against Becker. The last of their guest had left hours ago, leaving the family of eight to enjoy a quiet dinner together. Not long after that Maddie left to head back to the house she shared with her boyfriend, promising to drop Lily back at her dorm room on the way, leaving the rest of their family to begin their nightly routine. While Jess and Becker got Bella and Max ready for bed, Jenna and Hailey enjoyed having control of the TV and settled in to watch a movie.

Now, all four kids were in bed and Jess and Becker were able to enjoy some time to themselves.

'What a day,' Jess said. 'I'm exhausted.'

'Me too,' Becker replied. 'Everyone seemed to have a good time though.'

Jess smiled. 'They did, didn't they? It's been a while since we've all been able to get together.'

'We see the team every day at work.'

'I meant, for something other than work.'

'We see them almost every weekend,' Becker argued. 'There's always at least one kid who's got something on.'

He had a point, not that Jess would admit it. Like everything they did at work, the core ARC team handled raising their kids as a group. With the odd hours their jobs generally had them working, not to mention the risks involved, it was the only way to ensure that all their kids always had a parent available to them when needed. Jess had lost count of the times she and Becker were tied up at work and one of their team mates had stepped in to care for their kids. Matt often joked about the fact that, despite choosing not to have children, with all the children their team members had he and Emily have still wound up being parents. Though they all know that both he and Emily love that they got to be so involved in raising Jenna, Hailey, Bella and Max, as well as Abby and Connor's three kids; Nicholas, Daniel and Allister.

'Which reminds me,' Jess said. 'Nick and Dan have a football game tomorrow.'

Becker groaned. 'Do we really need to go? They're barely ever on the field.'

'Yes we're going,' Jess said. 'They're practically our kids too.'

'I know. I'm only joking.'

'Hmmph,' Jess replied, curling further into Becker's side. The events of the day were catching up with her and Jess could feel her eyelids drooping as her tiredness grew.

'Come on, let's go to bed,' Becker said, catching his wife as she stifled a yawn.

Jess let Becker slowly pull her from the couch and lead her to their bedroom. Once there, the pair changed quickly and got into bed, Becker pulling Jess close to him the moment she was lying down. She was close to falling asleep when Becker spoke.

'Have I ever mentioned how lucky I am to have you in my life,' he said quietly.

'Maybe once or twice,' Jess replied, trying to be playful, though it was clear in her voice just how sleepy she was.

'Well I am. There was a time I didn't think I would ever get to be with someone I loved, and who loved me back. The last fifteen years with you have been more than I ever hoped for. I love you Jess, more now than ever.'

'I love you too,' Jess assured him. 'More than anything.'

They fell quiet then, both feeling safe wrapped in the love they had for each other. The last ten years had hosted some of the happiest moments of Jess's life, and it had all started on that fateful day Bianca had turned up on their doorstep. For the few months she had been around she had wreaked havoc on the small family, but thinking back on the time, Jess was almost grateful it had happened. Almost. After all, if it wasn't for her, they may not have vocalised the fears they each had, and then who knows if they would have built for themselves the happy life they had now.


End file.
